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?
Having visited similar exhibitions that blend art, history, and social commentary, I find that photographs like those in 'Bones in the Canal' serve as powerful tools to evoke emotion and reflection on complex conflicts. The use of biblical symbolism—such as the Virgin Mary and the Cain and Abel story—adds layers of meaning that challenge viewers to reconsider narratives they've accepted. What fascinates me most is how ordinary elements like a cat or a baby are incorporated to connect the political tensions with everyday life. For instance, the image of two people cajoling a cat near a riverbank, hinting at drowning, is a provocative metaphor for innocence caught in adversity. This subtle portrayal aligns with Jacques Derrida’s notion of the 'autobiographical animal,' questioning the boundaries between self-awareness and observer. Personally, such exhibitions invite me to contemplate how emotions shape our understanding of conflict—how love, fear, and sacrifice intersect in human experiences. The photographer’s decision to use unsettling imagery, including a shocking depiction involving a penis, disrupts complacency and pushes viewers out of their comfort zones, fostering deeper engagement. Moreover, the exhibition’s reference to information blackouts and 'black holes' metaphorically addresses the obscured realities in conflict zones, emphasizing the importance of breaking through silence and denial. The reimagining of markets as fish traveling through waves highlights the fluidity and complexity of information flow in these contexts. This kind of art challenges us not just to witness but to participate in the dialogue around peace and empathy. It reminds me of Alice’s journey in Wonderland—navigating a surreal, often disturbing world to discover truths beneath the surface. In sum, 'Bones in the Canal' exemplifies how creativity can illuminate emotional depths and historical struggles, urging us to reflect on our roles as both observers and participants in our shared human narrative.
