Emotions
#arrrtttt #hoonngggkkoonngg #polliiiccee #pprrootteasstsss #doonnallddjjtrryuummpp #neewwyyoorrkkeerrr #nnyytt #evveryythinngg #?????? #evveryyybbooddyy #evverrywwhheerree #evveryysppaaccettiimmeecoonntiinuummm #llaunnchhppaddd #bippoooccc #arrttiicclllesss #articclliinngggg #design #crimessss #infinity #warssssssssssssssssssssssssss #newspapers #magazines #thenewyorker #scmp #art #donaldjtrump #police #protests #nyt #thenewyorker #everything #everybody #everywhere #everyspacetimedimensionscontinuumcontinuity #infinity #wars #bipoc
???????
Emotions
C magazine review
Yuling Chen
April 16th 2026
Bones in the canal and other photographs is an exploration of emotions. It tells people a story about Israel Palestine conflicts’ origins in the biblical stories. The Virgin Mary is made to kneel to measure the length of the legs of ballerina. A baby is sleeping or lying on the floor. A penis is used to shock the viewers out of their senses. Sometimes we see vehicles. Sometimes we see cats. Sometimes we see women and men. These biblical references to sacrifices often link the conflicts to the everyday life of people lived in random places. The exhibition talks about the market in the past tense. It makes up a biblical narrative about the markets as a type of fish travelling through waves of information blackout and black holes. The most notable photograph in the exhibition is the one two people trying to cajoling a cat to play near the river bank. The tender suggestion that they are trying to drown the cat to death has made the photograph a shocking revelation of the Cain and Abel story as a fabrication of love in the face of adversity and struggles. It tells the narrative of the Alice’s adventure in wonderland, of a little blonde girl traversing the dreamy underworld of grotesque monsters without detailing its brutal scenes of murders and killings. The theorist Jacques Derrida in 1997 addressed the public of “the autobiographical animal” later published as “the animal therefore I am (more to follow)”. He talked at large of the animal being a self referential subject looking and gazing back at their spectators. This fear inducing framework has shocked the general public as absurd and grotesque. How could an animal look back at you when it had no human consciousness or awareness of being watched? This photograph deals with this ontological question gently through its gesture of petting. It no longer wants to answer the question and its thorny undercurrents of provocations. It wants to pose itself as a question, should we or shouldn’t we treat ourselves as an autobiographical animal?
The exhibition "Bones in the Canal and Other Photographs" deeply resonated with me as it intertwines artistic expression with complex political and emotional themes. Viewing these images firsthand, I was struck by how the artist uses everyday elements—cats, vehicles, children, and biblical figures—as metaphors for broader narratives of conflict, sacrifice, and humanity. The photograph with two people coaxing a cat near a riverbank particularly lingered in my mind. It challenges the viewer to contemplate the nature of love and rivalry, evoking the biblical story of Cain and Abel but through a tender, ambiguous scene that questions rather than answers. What impressed me most was the exhibition’s ability to blend historical and contemporary symbolism, such as the Virgin Mary measuring a ballerina’s leg or shocking uses of provocative imagery. It pushes one to rethink the boundaries between personal and collective memory, especially in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The biblical references become a lens through which the emotional scars and enduring human stories embedded in this political struggle become palpable. The philosophical reflections inspired by Jacques Derrida’s concept of "the autobiographical animal" add a fascinating dimension. It made me reflect on how identity and self-awareness might transcend species, provoking thought about empathy and the human condition. Petting the cat in the photographs symbolizes a gesture of connection and inquiry rather than conclusive answers. Ultimately, the exhibition invites us to engage with difficult questions through the universal language of emotions. It reminded me that art can reveal hidden layers beneath political conflicts, showing the intertwined nature of love, violence, and survival. Experiencing this exhibition personally urged me to consider not only the historical narratives but also the individual stories and emotions that continue to shape communities today.
