Vivamus Vulputate

In the Liminal Glow (2022)

E-Zine.

According to David Batchelor in Chromophobia, "Colours have been the object of extreme prejudice, [...] they have been systematically marginalised, reviled, diminished and degraded". In reality, the invisibility and disappearance of neon commodities is closely linked to this persistent prejudice. There is an urgent need to curb and rehabilitate their stigmatisation. My practice is an attempt to reclaim neon from culture, to elevate its significance, to affirm its complexity and to demonstrate that it is not dangerous or negligible.

I have taken some of the elements derived from the neon commodities of real hideouts and added potentially desirable environmental information to embellish and decorate the rearranged scene. The careful placement and contextualisation of different types of neon commodities creates a 'flawless' photographic image that encapsulates the daydream and vision of a better life. I also adjusted the proportions of colour and size between them and other objects to emphasise their subjectivity and initiative, accurately reflecting characteristics not found in the real world. Neon both peddles the illusion of alienation to the viewer and, with its striking tone, draws the viewer's attention to reality's resistance to it.

꧁Mu Chuan꧂

°✩₊CONTACT₊✩°

@1lanren on Instagram

mu0.0chuan@gmail.com

♡*• :: •*♡WELCOME TO MY BIO♡*• :: •*♡

Muchuan Chen (b. 2001) is a London-based Chinese research artist currently completing her MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Chen explores the convergence of landscape painting and ideological influence in the Zomia region. Rooted in the evocative imagery of the Ban Gioc-Detian Falls, these paintings transcend mere decoration to address themes of nationalist pride and territorial sovereignty, while subtly critiquing exploitation and surveillance. Inspired by James C. Scott’s “The Art of Not Being Governed”, Chen sees Zomia as a haven of autonomy that escapes state control. Her practice reflects the changes of recent decades along the Sino-Vietnamese border, where political and commercial encroachments have reshaped the landscape of her childhood.

Chen also treats neon commodities as metaphors of marginalisation to acknowledge the struggles of disenfranchised groups. Emblematic of mass production and low value, these objects have been rendered invisible by the march of urbanisation and minimalism. Neon colours that should attract attention instead remain unseen, a phenomenon that resonates with Zomia’s historical evasion of authority. Her installations are a synthesis of two worlds. By juxtaposing neon commodities with landscape paintings, she traces the anonymity of Zomia’s inhabitants in the context of the global spectacle of modernity. In short, Chen seeks to uncover strategies of liberation and resistance embedded in visual and material culture.