Baijia Bei
2021
Participatory Installation
Images of borrowed household items printed on canvas, metal rings, hemp ropes, collected stories of supportive items
Shanghai

Baijia Bei (One Hundred Families Quilt) is a participatory project that aims to share the experience of being sheltered by aggregated fragments of love amid turbulent times.

This project took the form of a quilt, the core of which was made with photographs of the things Sidian borrowed from friends, things that surrounded her in her temporary living space and made her feel loved. The audience was invited to expand the quilt by attaching their own photos of objects that symbolize support and love. All photos use blankets as background, composing an archive of mental and physical shelter. During the performances, Sidian took the quilt to parks and invited the audience to sit down with her, to talk about the things that have helped them through turbulent times.

The name “Baijia Bei” is borrowed from a Northern Chinese patchwork tradition: making a quilt with fabric pieces donated by friends and neighbors to bless the newborn infant with collective good wishes. Similar to this tradition, Baijia Bei is a symbol of assembled fragments of love. When tying the images printed on canvas together with ropes, the audience and Sidian co-construct an ephemeral home with a renewed ritual that involves an exchange of energy.

百家被
2021
互动装置
借来之物的照片数码喷印在帆布上，金属打孔环，麻绳，收集来的故事


2021年我在离开上海的一个半月前又搬了一次家。为了最经济地度过这段过渡时期，我开始向朋友们借生活用品。这些物品一件件都是细碎的爱，为我堆砌出了既陌生又安稳的暂时居所。于是我把所有借来的东西都放在（也是借来的）被子上拍照，印在布上，重新拼合，把收到的爱都集合起来，变成可移动的“庇护所”。随后我在网上公开征集了许多私人物品的照片，每件物品背后都有一个关于爱与支持的故事。我把这些照片带到公园里，邀请公众跟我一起拼这床“被子”，并聊聊帮助我们渡过动荡时期的物品和事件。这些谈话搭建起了一个暂时性的，隐形的家庭客厅。