RUIZHI LIU
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07: Human, All Sentient Being and Lifespan | Image of Self 2019
Everyone has emotions, which are not only the product of subjective perceptions but are also subject to influences of objective physiological changes. This is echoed by the two-factor theory of emotion proposed by Schachter & Singer. The theory, however, also states that subjective perceptions are determinant factors of emotions. Whenever I feel my emotions sharpen, I am able to see with great clarity the entirety of me. So what is the relationship between my emotions and me? To answer that question, I seek inspiration from Buddhism; as the Buddha says, “[that person will be] without the image of self, image of human beings, image of sentient beings and image of lifespan”. My connection with the world lies in the very fact that I am a “human being”.
The notions of the “world that I am living in” and the “things that I do” are also evidence of the existence of “me”. When we talk about a black round table, we are describing the object according to the conventions of the human world — the black color and the round shape perceived by humans and the table recognized by humans. Given the fact that all these are conventionalized based on people’s subjective observations, what will be left, I wonder, after all these are removed. The answer is my consciousness, just like what the Buddha refers to as the “image without self”. As a human being, I see emotions as the most fundamental approach to expressing my inner consciousness.
In this project, I chose a Polaroid camera to capture my own emotions, during which I also employed the technique of emulsion lift. Using the Polaroid emulsion lift technique, a thin film immersed in water can be moved to a piece of paper. The thin film would produce some natural pleats making the entire vibes more emotionally exhilarating and lively, thereby making the final work more adequate to express the sentiments that I try to convey. Here, the record of my own emotions is employed to manifest the existence of the “image of self” noted in the Diamond Sutra. Some of my expressions were shot to articulate my inner consciousness and to explore the relationship between my emotions and my consciousness.