I try to express distance in different ways. This distance is both physical and psychological.
Twelve thousand kilometers, this is the straight-line distance between Wuhan and Providence. Abstract numbers make me unable to imagine the actual distance, so how far is I from home? I want to translate this distance through different items. I began to observe familiar things around me. How far is the thread from the spindle? How long is a bag of rice noodles? So how many such items are needed to reach 12,000 kilometers?
For me, personal items contain potent emotions. However, they look very ordinary and very inconspicuous. But these objects include strong personal memories and emotions. Many human emotions are similar. Personalized items carry many unseen stories, such as sadness, happiness, loss, regret, etc. I want these things to communicate with the audience and resonate with the audience. Even if the audience has different cultures and backgrounds, they can also bring back their memories and stories.
When I conceived this work, I shifted my focus from personal belongings to the personal narration. This video contains Providence and Wuhan's physical distance and shows the physical and emotional distance between my parents and me. For my family's happiness, my parents have lived in two different cities since I was a child. They can't meet every day, and they can only contact by phone. The only time we can get together is during the Spring Festival. Now, my family is living in different cities, and I gradually understand my parents' choices at the time. We can't live like other families. We haven't traveled together, but our psychological distance has not diminished.
I want to give this work as a gift to myself, my parents, and those far from home. Although this is my story, it is also the story of many people.