Room 0 (2019-2022) Mix-media animation Clay, Photo print and scan,3D modelling June 2022
ROOM 0
(2019-2022)
ROOM 0 is a metaphorical animation that shows
my experience during the age of COVID in China.
I came up with this idea during my quarantine
when I returned home in June 2022. Fourteen
days of compulsory hotel quarantine are full of
worries and fear. I feared that I would get a positive result during my quarantine. Also, I feared
my quarantine time would be extended because
I may have close contact with someone who tested positive. I feared that policies would change
again and nobody know when will be the end.
Those 14 days were unsettling, so I took those
anxieties, worries, and fears from my body, and
made the ROOM 0.
I. Quarantine Time
The Room Animation Video footage, 3D modelling, Adobe After Effects May 2022
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Quarantine Time Sketches Digital drawing with Artstudio May 2022
ROOM 0 has 7 rooms, each room has its own metaphor. But at core of the Room 0 lays the Zero policy in China. 0 is good, 0 is all we want. Three years passed, the battle with Covid-19 was turned into something else. Under the 0 policies, the desire to ‘defeat’ Covid-19 grew stronger than ever. With more extreme lockdowns and quarantine rules, endless PCR tests, people became exhausted and lived in fear. The end of these states seemed hopeless, just like there is no real exit in Room 0 but only a repetitive countdown from 1 to 7. When the character in Room 0 reached the 7th day, all its hope and expectation would be shattered by another round of 7 days of isolation. This disappointment and fear started to become the new normality for people in China.
II. The Seven Rooms
Room 1: Everything is for health
I need to sanitize everything. The water sink is full of soap, I can no longer remember how many times I have washed my hands, but as long as I keep washing I will be safe and healthy.
Room 2: Make A Wish
The promised food never came, but they pretend it is there. Everyone is hav- ing a good life in their home, everyone is fed.
Room 3: Everybody Counts
Under 0 policies, numbers become important. How many positives, how many death cases, and how many contagions? People are counting numbers on their phones every day and people are numbers that are being counted every day.
Room 4: What time is it?
So many days alone this is room, what day is today?
Room 5: Louder, Louder and Louder!
Voices were censored. Articles and messages posted by people online were soon blocked or deleted by the app developer. People only need to believe in the Zero policy and that is the only thing they will see online. 0 IS GOOD.
Room 6: You Shall leave
Can you actually leave? Do you still have the courage to go out and have con- tact with people? What if you get positive? Maybe it is safer to just stay in- doors....
Room 7: The End
This is it, the end of my quarantine, I am counting every day just for this. But is this the end or the beginning of another round of lockdown?
II.Room 0 (2019-2021)
Room 0 (2019-2022) Mixed-media Animation Clay, Photo print and scan, 3D modeling June 2022 4 Minutes