Rubbish of Growth
Date:2005-2009
Media: Adhesive tapes
Size: 20×15×2 inch
Details:
Rubbish of
Growth is made from a great deal of used adhesive tapes, which I
have been collecting since middle school. Starting in the 1990s, once they had
begun writing using ballpoint pens, students in Mainland China have been
commonly using adhesive tapes to correct mistakes. According to my memory,
there was a strange limitations placed on us in terms of using pens for
homework and examination papers. Middle school students were not allowed to
write with pencils any longer, while pupils were not allowed to write with anything
other than pencils. It seems that these artificial boundary divided writing
into two different meanings. Writing with pen was considered formal and mature
compared with pencil, as it took more effort to make corrections.
Neat writing on exercise books and examination papers was considered very important, and teachers also had reward and punishment standards for this requirement. Compared with correction fluid, adhesive tape doesn’t leave many traces on exercise books or examination papers. It became a helpful invention that helped avoiding blame and punishment from teachers. But sometimes, it turns out to be a poor substitute, by tearing a hole in the paper.︎
Neat writing on exercise books and examination papers was considered very important, and teachers also had reward and punishment standards for this requirement. Compared with correction fluid, adhesive tape doesn’t leave many traces on exercise books or examination papers. It became a helpful invention that helped avoiding blame and punishment from teachers. But sometimes, it turns out to be a poor substitute, by tearing a hole in the paper.︎
I am pretty sure I am not
the only one who collected the used adhesive tapes. For me, it is hard to
answer why I decided to start collecting this useless object when I was young,
but I have been trying to learn the reason why. Now this strange object I
considered a piece of art, makes me recall my impression of the compulsory
educational process.
In addition to learning academics in school, students also have to learn how to comply with rules and disciplines. Discipline, with its unique reason for punishment: noncompliance or deviation from criteria, justifies the penalty system. Any inconsequential factors, even the tiniest misbehaviors of students could be reason for punishment, such as sloppy writing or not using the proper type of pen. Slight deprivation and humiliation will be imposed to those who do not meet the specification, and corresponding corrections will be implemented on students, too.
The plastic strips used as stationary, in a sense, shows students’ wisdom, but in another sense, this strange object would not exist if there were no constraints or rules. It can be deemed as avoiding blame and can also be considered as compromise and endurance towards disciplinary education.
In a sense, the significance of the correction tape was amplified by removing it from its original context. As art, it is not an object simply created for correction, but it is actually a consequence. Originally, people just thought of the used adhesive tape as trash: afterused it, they threw it away. But out of context, the tape can represent something different: the history and manifestation of discipline.
In addition to learning academics in school, students also have to learn how to comply with rules and disciplines. Discipline, with its unique reason for punishment: noncompliance or deviation from criteria, justifies the penalty system. Any inconsequential factors, even the tiniest misbehaviors of students could be reason for punishment, such as sloppy writing or not using the proper type of pen. Slight deprivation and humiliation will be imposed to those who do not meet the specification, and corresponding corrections will be implemented on students, too.
The plastic strips used as stationary, in a sense, shows students’ wisdom, but in another sense, this strange object would not exist if there were no constraints or rules. It can be deemed as avoiding blame and can also be considered as compromise and endurance towards disciplinary education.
In a sense, the significance of the correction tape was amplified by removing it from its original context. As art, it is not an object simply created for correction, but it is actually a consequence. Originally, people just thought of the used adhesive tape as trash: afterused it, they threw it away. But out of context, the tape can represent something different: the history and manifestation of discipline.
