Youtian Duan
youtian.com ig: duan.youtian
What Do I See Between 2 to 8 O'Clock
Strawberry scented body wash does cleanse, but is strawberry scent real? Maybe it's artificially fake. But is the artificial one fake? The artificial strawberry flavor is also an authentic artificial strawberry flavor. What's real and what's fake? Barbie is a fake human. Barbie is a real Barbie. Fake yellow croakers are real fake yellow croakers. Real yellow croakers are fake fake yellow croakers. Nothing is real. Nothing is fake.
Abstract
We record our daily life, our daily emotions. But maybe we lie to ourselves. Or our expression is a kind of hope: what we want to look like or want others to think we are like. Unfortunately, it's usually not our natural appearance, not the honest thoughts in our hearts. Maybe we don’t understand ourselves.
I like to record my dreams. In the dream world, sometimes I relax, sometimes nervous, and unconsciously wander around.
That is the real me.
In my unconscious dream state, I identify myself, know myself, again and again. I can live in peace with a world that is alien to me.
Most of the plots in our dreams are messy and illogical. Sometimes a dream can jump directly from one scenario to another, with a very rigid transition. Dreams are never a coherent story. But each dream will have a mainline, like someone dreaming of finding the exit, a moment to go here and there, to places that seem illogical.
The furniture I make may not look like pieces of furniture. They may be a bush of mushrooms, a tulip, a flock of lambs, but they are also really pieces of furniture--or I don't mind what the user thinks they are.
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A Flock Of Sheep
2019
A Flock of Sheep explores the possibilities of the shape of modular furniture. It is born to encourage people to gather together for good conversations in public areas. Since the 'sheep' are close to each other, and the soft texture is comfy to touch, it will make the atmosphere amiable and enjoyable. Two or three people can sit on a set of sheep simultaneously, but more people can also join when they move the sheep together. With people's free combination of sheep, people can create infinitely different scenes and moments.
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The Duck Side Is Never Too Dark
2021
A plump woman.
She took a fragile girl to the lakeside and said she would teach her how to be a lovely dog.
In the chaos, a man jumped from their direction into the lake.
He morphed into a half-human fish.
A closer look revealed that his head was in the shape of a bird.
He lurks in the water with only his head above the surface.
He watched that skinny girl that is held by the plump woman on the bank for her instruction.
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Butterfly Dream
2021
"The Butterfly Dream" “周庄梦蝶”
昔者莊周夢為胡蝶，栩栩然胡蝶也，自喻適志與。不知周也。
Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering about, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know that he was Zhuang Zhou.
俄然覺，則蘧蘧然周也。不知周之夢為胡蝶與，胡蝶之夢為周與。周與胡蝶，則必有分矣。此之謂物化。
Suddenly he woke up, and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuang Zhou. But he didn't know if he was Zhuang Zhou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhuang Zhou. Between Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly, there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things.
— Zhuangzi, chapter 2
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Sitting On Shrooms
2020
I dreamed that my bed was uncomfortable.
In my dream, I toss and turn, toss and turn. It's still terrible, even a little dizzy.
I was very annoyed, so I jumped up. I scared Troy, and he was playing the League of Legends in the 2K, weird.
He stopped playing. He ran over to me to check my bed cause he was afraid that I might get angry.
When he lifted up the sheets, I found mushrooms! They look so colorful and delicious.
Troy tried to help me pull out the mushrooms, but I stopped him. Instead of that, I invited him to lie down with me.
It's not surprising. The mushrooms are so comfortable to lay on!
I felt as if the mushrooms were sucking me in, enveloping me, as if I had turned into liquid and kept falling down.
I did not notice when Troy disappeared.
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Tulips
2020
I was taken to a fantasy world as a slave, and every day is just consistently working and endless back pain. Everything here, including flowers, trees, rocks, and birds, speaks human language. A stone said to me that I should go with him to a place. We came to a cliff, and he said that I could go back to my world by jumping down to the bottom of the cliff. But, strangely, I am a little reluctant to leave the world where I have to work all the time. I don't want to leave! After a few pleasantries with the stone, I jumped down. I could feel the shock of the sinking air, pushing my bangs and hair on top of my head. Then my eyes went dark, and I woke up when I opened my eyes again.
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Hexagon Mirror
2021
It was an odd toilet, as big as a bathtub and covered with pool-like pale blue tiles. Where the tank should have been was a massive aquarium with a shark in it and a duck floating on the water.
I seemed to think it was normal.
I really want to use the toilet, but I don't know if I should sit on it. Several women who looked like nurses came and pushed me away to show me how to use the toilet correctly.
When they looked back, I realized they looked the same.
They ended up sitting together on the edge of the bathtub-shaped toilet, looking at me altogether, with those copy-pasted faces.
Exhibition Layout
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