Monika Lin
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Texts
- Shadow Count, installation, ceramics, plexiglass, mixed media, dimensions variable, 2010
- “The Exemplars,” woodcut, 1 of an edition of 20, 24 x 22 cm, 2013
- Hybrid Landscapes, resin and acrylic paint, ink, plaster pill replicas on wood panel, 30 x 40 cm, 2012
- Monika Lin, “Memory Boxes,” found objects, resin, found box, 37 x 11.5 x 10cm, 2014
- On the Way to the Imperial Examination… : Crow No. 2, wire, rice paper, paste and beeswax, dimensions variable, 2012
- Skipping Girls No. 5, plaster replicas of pills, polymer paint (acrylic), epoxy resin and ink on wood panel, 35 x 25 cm, 2010
- Take-Away, rice, resin, masking tape, dimensions variable, 2012
- Take-Away
Exhibitions
- What if Objects Could Talk?March 29th, 2014 - May 26th, 2014
- Learning from the Literati 4
September 14th, 2013 - October 29th, 2013 - Learning from the Literati 3
September 5th, 2012 - October 10th, 2012 - Abstract Expressions
April 14th, 2012 - May 27th, 2012 - Cold Comfort
February 4th, 2012 - March 18th, 2012 - Collective Consciousness August 6th, 2011 - August 30th, 2011
- Refracted Realities
April 9th, 2011 - May 9th, 2011 - Shifting Definitions November 6th, 2010 - December 18th, 2010
“The Exemplars,” woodcut, 1 of an edition of 20, 24 x 22 cm, 2013
“The 24 Exemplars of Filial Piety” are a group of tales compiled by Yuan Dynasty scholar Guo Jujing. The tales were used as a means of teaching children the importance of filial piety. They range from the son who feels the pain of his mother’s bitten finger from miles away to the son who sits quietly by his parents’ bed drawing the mosquitoes to drink his blood instead of theirs, so as not to disturb their sleep. These tales had great impact on past generations, but attitudes and practices regarding family life have shifted in more recent generations due in part to urbanization and population migration, and the independent attitude of the new generation in regards to traditional notions of “family.”
On July 1st of this year, a new law was passed to address the reality of children moving away from the family home and community — leaving a growing population of elderly without proper care or frequent family interaction. The law, called “Protection of the Rights and Interests of Elderly People,” has nine clauses that lay out the duties of children and their obligation to tend to the “spiritual needs of the elderly.” Although a real and growing problem exists within the aging communities in China, family estrangements have many layers and causes. Compelling individuals to travel great distances at significant cost or during the crowded official holidays (acknowledged as the largest human migration in the world every year), can be a burden some will not be able to manage. Estrangements due to family discord or abuses would not be excused. Then there are those that find ways around the law. Already there are entrepreneurs offering their services to visit in the stead of offspring. A loop-hole has already sprung up, declaring the substitution of a paid visitor an acceptable stand-in for the child.
