A long, big leg, being covered with bushy hair. It appears on any creature but most often on those whose faces that hidden behind hair. I call it Hairy-Legs.
This symbol that is connected to my subconscious looks not cute. It was a day in my early adulthood I had sudden intense anxiety about my leg hair. They’re disgusting, ugly, and full of uncomfortably high levels of male hormones and always sprout back with hard little thorns within days of being shaved– You are helpless, but they are just stubborn to symbiotic with you.
Symbiosis! That’s right. That dispensable existence never leaves voluntarily. Each hair has its state, time and position, just like those in my mind, which made my leg turn into an irrigated field full of confusion, disturbing and fascinating.
They represent my doubts about relations between the subconscious and real life, and the desire to capture and read them is vital. For me, spirit and body are not always in the same dimension, so when I play with those the fragmented mental consciousness and different states of my daily life, I can obtain unity of time and space. And in terms of expression, I prefer concrete stories, whether text or visual works, putting emotions, conflicts, and imagination into narrative plots, making them the real-life reflection. That’s what I’m doing and what I want to do in the future.
Donglai Meng (b. 1994, China), graduated from Master Institute St.Joost in 2019, currently living and working in the Netherlands.
