CONTACT
INSTAGRAM
The Imaginative Home
Photography, 2022
Neo Shopping Bag
2023
UV printed plastic bags. 40*32*8 cm.
The items sold in the small commodities wholesale market are characterised by a common colour scheme, with bright neon colours dominating. These small commodities are mass-produced in China and are generally perceived as everyday household items of relatively low value. Transactions typically take place offline, away from city centres, often in suburban areas, urban villages or county towns.
Google Maps was used to identify such wholesale markets in Lien Hwa New Village in Suzhou Industrial Park, with popular time slots selected for first-hand research. Upon arrival, it became clear that the huge market was almost invisible to other consumers, except for myself and the owners of nearby shops. This observation led me to consider the potential of online consumption and further investigate the availability of decentralised, undetailed items on e-commerce platforms. However, in terms of ascending price order and overall ranking, the items displayed on the product pages and automatically pushed by the system are in fact cheap imitations of Miniso products that emulate the style of Muji. Even consumers in lower socio-economic classes, who have traditionally been the target audience for neon-coloured small commodities, are gradually changing their purchasing preferences.
Consumer culture is saturated with a minimalist mainstream aesthetic that permeates the subaltern of contemporary Chinese society. The usual discourse around neon-coloured small commodities is associated with the label of unsustainability and poor quality, resembling piles of colourful plastic. This kind of label runs counter to modern tastes in home decoration. As a result, they no longer appear on a large scale, even in the domestic spaces of the rural-urban fringe. But childhood memories remind me that more or less traces of them have been left behind from past lives. Today they have been abandoned by urbanisation, as history has been displaced. Their owners are no longer present in offline trading places or as shoppers in minimalist online stores. The fluorescent objects are about to disappear into the hands of anonymous individuals.
When image spam has a bright fluorescent colour, it triggers the spam filtering system. This allows it to be identified, tagged and categorised so that it goes straight into the grey area, never to be clicked on and viewed by humans again. It circulates in an endless loop where no one can see it, usually invisible and treated like homeless people in cyberspace. Conversely, some basic practices can help prevent emails from being blocked or sent to spam folders, making it easier to respond smoothly to email rating criteria. One solution is to replace brightly coloured fonts. When real people actively mimic the vanishing image spam technique using fluorescent colours, the fluorescent colours act as a visual shield, maintaining the situation of being protected by bright colours and hiding in neon. This has the effect of triggering filtering and blocking mechanisms that provide cover for the unspeakable and inexpressible individual to bear the stigma of being in the spotlight. It also places the individuals it colours in the shadow of the gaze, surveillance, censorship and authority, with a counter-example that instructs the sender on how to transfer, escape, become invisible or even disappear from it.
Fluorescent objects are bought by subaltern groups far from city centres. Similarly, fluorescent uniforms are worn by workers doing menial jobs on construction sites, highways and railways. The visual stereotype that high-contrast neon colours are unsuitable for darker skin tones has been implanted in the general perception. From its creation to its transmission and reception, image spam with its fluorescent colour markings has lost its status and is on its way to the spam folder. The neon signs that symbolise plastic love are accompanied by city pop and disco beats that evoke feelings of disappointment and love that bursts like a bubble. Several instances of the above occur within the maze created by a neon diffusion. The answer to the puzzle tends towards a rapid descent after an inclined appearance of euphoria and pleasure. The colouring phenomenon of the fluorescent pigment suggests the potential for social distinction, with any individual wearing neon colours in danger of being forced to downgrade.
Neon, with its origins in artificial backgrounds and unnatural hues, is seen as rude and stupid. Neon signs symbolise nightlife, reinforcing the colour's association with psychedelia, frivolity and excess. Because of its high visibility, neon is used in the manufacture of signage and industrial clothing, where workers wear fluorescent uniforms to convey warnings and messages of danger. The fact that neon is always associated with the negative presence of the marginalised, the underclass, the anti-intellectual and the law-breaking means that its ability to be invisible is innate. The increasing number of neon colours corresponds to a huge number of disempowered, disappearing and outright missing individuals. It colours real people so that their public image remains unnoticed by the media, in order to secretly contemplate an escape from domination and identification.
Bibliography
Batchelor, D. (2000). Chromophobia. London: Reaktion Books.
Just a Streak of Fluorescence Passing
2022
Terry cloth, rayon fabric, acrylic toy cups, plastic toy baskets, coloured hairpieces, steel rods and sheets, spray paints. 250*150*50 cm.
The Spear
2025
Fly swatters, yarn. 47*13.5 cm.
The Shield
2025
Terry cloth. 45*60 cm.