Yingming Chen

A sculpture work took the form of selling ice lolly as the starting point. Two different “flavours” of ice lolly, which are made from Xinhua Dictionary and Oxford English Dictionary are neatly placed on the wooden tray. 

Dictionary is a reference book that provides syllables, meaning interpretation, example sentences, usage, etc. While the dictionary helps people understand words and things, doesn't it also set us an objective standard? And yet, isn't this objective standard exist? Perhaps, all of this could just be the Ideological State Apparatuses indicated by Louis Althusser.

The work metaphors the dictionary as the ice lolly. As a universal Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) product, it quickly fit into a standard value that is shared in people's mind. Just like a propaganda machine in the shape of an ice lolly - the one that does not melt and is toxic.

In order to bring the whole project closer to reality, I specially made four advertising posters. The work aims to express the characteristics of ice lolly and the concept of this work to the audience in the fastest, clearest and simplest words. At the same time, inspired by Wang Guangyi's work - Great Leap Forward, the work also utilises the form of advertising posters to achieve a publicity effect, as well as a brainwashing effect.

Inspired by the form of a feather duster - a dusting tool, usually made of feathers tied to one end of a vine or bamboo pole, the work utilises the traditional method of making a feather duster, the materials used are strap pieces of dictionaries instead of feathers.

In my culture, the other end of a feather duster is often used by parents as a tool to punish their naughty children to correct their behaviours. Similarly, the dictionary is a tool also used to control our understanding as a kind of ideological correction for us - the physiological imprisonment of human beings.

By using traditional techniques to construct the work and repurposing a politically charged reference book, the work reflects the manipulation of objective standards by ideological state apparatuses as well as the impact on people and reality.

A sculpture work utilising the Chinese dictionary (Xinhua Zidian the 10th ed - 新华字典第十版) - the one I used when I studied Chinese in China - as the material. It involves the deconstruction of the dictionary by cutting off every word and its syllables, meaning interpretation, example sentences and usage - including 415 syllables and 8,697 words in total and is vacuumed in the vacuum sealer bags to isolate as well as prevent deterioration.

During the process of making the work, as a former user, by decomposing this politically charged reference book and all its "objective standards" of the nature of "indoctrination". The work aims to cut off the political spectrum attached to the dictionary while preventing this ideological state apparatus from further worsening itself.

Inspired by the form an application form - one of the types of the form provided by the Immigration Department Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Six transparent literature holders contain five hundred application forms arranged neatly on the wall. The manifestation takes the appearance where people fill in their application form in the immigration department, the work created a similar atmosphere and allows audiences to experience the pressure when they interact with the work by filling the form.

The work utilises the title Application for Renunciation of Collectivism to self-examine our role under collectivism. While withdrawing from collectivism, one's has fallen into another collective.