Peppermint

Although Chen Qiulin (b. Yichang City, 1975; lives and works in SichuanProvince, China) primarily works with moving images, she alsocreates performances, photographs, and installations. She is especiallyinterested in the reality of “ordinary” people in today’s China. Herwork investigates collective memories, social injustices, and rapiddevelopment and the changes it brings, but also seeks to capture atouch of nostalgia, irritation, and hope.“Peppermint” is about a very particular recollection. A phone call anda photograph of her old martial arts team transport Chen back to thesummer of 1983. The artist probes her personal history to appeal toour elementary human experiences and raise existential questionsabout how we became who we are. Explorations of her own past, herworks are thus also studies on the power of memories to shape ourlives and the passing of time.With essays by Chen Qiulin, Christian Ganzenberg, Sunny Sun, andYan Ge.