Synesthesia - Spices

Synesthesia - Spices, 2022
Anju Tianya Market, Chengdu

During the self-quarantines in multiple cities in 2020-2021, I tried to acquaint myself with every temporary living space by feeling the daily items. Kitchen spices were some of the trivia I documented in my sketches. Sensations, in this case, smells, are the intangible characteristics of an existing space. Thus, I see these sculptures as a parallel counterpart of the existing space which they derived from, not as the objects contained in the “context.”

I found a local spice store to present the sculptures with the smells. I want to observe authentic reactions from the general public, especially those who would never visit art museums or galleries initiatively. Outside of the context of art-showing spaces, the idea of an “exhibition” and the experience of art viewing is overturned.

In the video, customers visited the spice store and asked questions about the sculptures out of curiosity. The task of answering their questions was given to the store owner.

Spices - White Pepper

2022
16 x 60 x 16 in

Although the white pepper appears pale beige, it tastes heavier and denser than it looks.
Astringent when spreading in the mouth, its bumpy texture and erratic sense of weight contract and ease tahe mucosa alternatingly. Pungent, stiff, musty. Humbly dull at first, sharp edges daringly unfurl after being swollen, bringing a presentient finish of brashness.

Spices - Sichuan Peppercorn

2022
24 x 24 x 24 in

The smell and the taste of Sichuan peppercorn in a dish have always been aggressively unignorable, no matter how faintly the ingredient is added. The prick brought by an accident chew on the peppercorn seed is disconcertingly straightforward, followed by an incremental oddity of tongue numbing, so stubborn as if it clings on the mucosa. Drinking water would not be able to relieve the numbing, but oil might help.