Old Friends of Time in Fragrant Harbour

Andi Dai

Set-Titel	Old Friends of Time in Fragrant Harbour
Autor/in	Andi Dai
Beschreibung	How long have you not heard some stories of female elders? My master's project is called Old Friends of Time in Fragrant Harbour. During my one-year study in Zurich, I could keep on working on my previous project as a continuity and on a bigger scale and think of the ideas and notions that I would like to transmit in this prospect. I aim to creating a unique view, share a message as an artist. The terms that I use are also important to convey this idea. My core research question is: How can the embodiment of intergenerational questions through a sensory experience bring the audience to reflect on communication problems and stereotyping between young people and elderly people? Now, my master project is an transdisciplinary experience design project integrating video, sound, photography, pictures, performing interaction and experimental creative products (mainly smell soap). Also, the project is about valuing the stories and know-how of elderly women, about giving visibility and space to this not often heard narrative in the public space. Therefore, it is based on a co-creative process that I run together with six elderly woman from mainland China and Hong Kong, which I consider the co-author of this project. More importantly, I want to give a platform for under-represented elderly women to share their life stories in new and unexpected ways with the public. So I take the life stories of grandmothers as the creative background, use the medium of smell soap, and combine my own body to interact with soaps. With the passage of time, the friction of the body and the scouring of liquid, soap gradually changes from solid to liquid under various forms of consumption. These changes will make this work of art pull the author and audience into an instant state. The changes of social development, the transience and eternity of history complement each other, and the common experience with a female elder as a child. These will make the author and the audience put themselves into memories and experiences to complete a deeper reflection on their own identity cognition and current situation.
Kunstgattung / Disziplin	Transdiziplinarität
Typ	Abschlussarbeit
Bereich ZHdK	Master in Transdisziplinarität (DKV_FTR_MTR.alle)
Datierung	30.05.2022
Dozierende/Projektleitung	Patrick Müller
Weitere beteiligte Personen	Lady Li, Mrs.Mai, Helen, Sabrina, Lady Shan and Mrs.Jia (Six female elders from mainland China and Hong Kong）