Nutrients, 160x300cm, 2008

I have observed the scenes in hospitals for many years. These experiences come from the experiences of family members, myself, and other friends. There is only a very small percentage of people who hold government or corporation positions can get reimbursed from the cost of hospitalization. However, a large majority of the people in China have to pay money ahead of time due to lack of wide-spread social medical care. My son went to hospital for a check-up. The doctor told him to be quiet when he was only three years old and terrified of doctors. My mother died of cancer and was refused an extended stay in the hospital for treatment due to lack of money. I was also maltreated while staying in a ward with an old man who died next to me and his relatives cried for a whole day in front of the dead body. Many friends had similar experiences. We call on the conscience and conscientiousness of the entire hospital staff, and more often than not, there is no nice response to our pleas. So in “Nutrients” (2008), I used the world of fashion decorated with bottled IV’s to show the nonsensical nature of our heath care services. Hinting that over-reliance on both fashion and bottled IV’s shows the exaggerated benefit and social contribution of consumerism.  Maybe they are just blank water.