Emotions
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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?
As someone who has visited numerous contemporary art exhibitions, I found the integration of biblical narratives with modern conflicts in 'Bones in the Canal' especially compelling. The photographs go beyond mere aesthetics; they invite deep reflection on how historical and religious stories shape our perceptions of current events like the Israel-Palestine conflict. One striking aspect is how everyday scenes, such as a baby lying on the floor or two people interacting with a cat by a riverbank, acquire symbolic weight. The image suggesting the drowning of the cat powerfully evokes the Cain and Abel story, raising questions about love, rivalry, and survival amidst adversity. This blend of tender gestures and unsettling undercurrents reminds me of personal moments when simple acts carry profound emotional meanings. Moreover, the reference to theorist Jacques Derrida’s concept of the “autobiographical animal” adds a philosophical layer to this exhibition. It challenges viewers to reconsider human-animal relationships and the nature of self-awareness. I found this particularly thought-provoking; it pushed me to contemplate whether acknowledging ourselves as autobiographical animals might deepen empathy toward all living beings. The exhibition’s metaphor of markets as fish navigating waves of information blackouts symbolizes the fluidity and opacity of communication in conflict zones. This imagery echoes my own experiences witnessing how information about wars and protests can be fragmented or suppressed, changing the way we understand complex realities. Overall, 'Bones in the Canal' uses a rich tapestry of visuals—from biblical references and shocking imagery to intimate human-animal interactions—to explore emotional landscapes shaped by history and conflict. It left me reflecting on how art can serve as a bridge connecting personal feelings with collective memories, urging us to question narratives we often take for granted.
