RUIZHI LIU

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06: Scrape 2023
Scratch-off coating debris

More and more young people in China are beginning to enjoy scratch-off lottery tickets, a game that is similar to gambling. Self-service lottery machines are set up in crowded areas. This phenomenon got me thinking. Why the lottery is popular among young people? Some research on the psychology of lotteries found that, firstly, the uncertainty of the behavior is attractive. Secondly, lotteries are considered a re-taxation of people with low incomes, as studies have shown that lotteries are consumed more by poor people who would have used the money to exchange for other necessities of life.

This inspired me to think that in China’s economy, which is no longer overgrowing, people can no longer be sure that the future is more positive. In other words, there is less and less hope for the young as classes become more and more solidified. That’s why such a gambling game with the possibility of suddenly having a large fortune attracts young people. This behavior is also known as “re-taxation of the poor.” It’s also a game of chance, a game of numbers that deepens class solidarity. People no longer believe in giving and receiving; instead, they gamble with their today to trade it for a better future through this way.

In this work, I pay attention to both the visual and behavioral aspects of the lottery. I drew on elements from lottery design, including lucky charms, folkloric numbers, wealth-associated objects, colors, and words, and used them as visual motifs in a pop art-style photographic arrangement. These designs create a symbolic backdrop to explore cultural and psychological associations with wealth and luck.

In parallel, I focused on the act of “scratching” itself. I covered Polaroid photographs with a lottery-style coating and scratched them, connecting the act of revealing to the uncertainty of outcomes. During my research, I observed that players often scratched only the “potentially profitable” sections, reflecting a selective, fantasized engagement with chance. This project, therefore, merges uncertainty, fantasy, and reality to reflect on personal development, ambition, and the mechanisms of social redistribution.