The project is derived from the artist’s experience of caring for an elderly family member with Parkinson’s disease, which stimulated the artist to consider the relevance between aging and deterioration of bodily functions and to question whether disability is a form of malfunction. Physical and mental decline gradually emerges when individuals with Parkinson’s disease and dementia struggle with time, reflecting the subtle relationships between humans and machines. During the residency in Yokohama, the artist deepened his understanding of how degenerative diseases impact one’s way of living and social role through interviews with healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers and developed a philosophical reflection on “slowness.” As Taiwan is expected to become an aging society, the project corresponds to a “slow generation” that may become mainstream in the future and attempts to redefine body and time through artistic actions. The artist will focus on conducting interviews and establishing a knowledge system in the early stage of the project and develop a wearable assistive device for slowness in the later stage to highlight the relationships between individuals and assistive devices. The final result of the project will be presented in the form of an exhibition and performance.

From the artist’s point of view, the final presentation is not only a performance but also an invitation, which welcomes everyone to see the values of time, body, and life in a different way. Perhaps, through the gradual process of the withering of life, we could find another way of moving forward.

Visit the artist’s official website at: https://wenhaozheng.cargo.site/