I began using insulin in 1980, and since 1983, I have used a blood sugar monitor to record my glucose levels and insulin dosages. These actions generate medical waste. Beginning in 1994, I started collecting the daily waste produced from insulin injections and blood sugar testing. Each collected set of materials was placed in a uniform-sized ziplock bag, with the date of collection written on the bag using a marker. As of January 2022, there are approximately 500 bags.
Each completed bag has been scanned into a digital image, and these images are compiled by year and printed on photographic paper. The original bags are arranged sequentially on the ground. A red thread is used to connect them, from the first bag to the last. The end of the thread will only be knotted after the end of my life.
I named these bags “pearls,” and strung them together with red thread to form an open-ended rosary. After my death, I have asked a friend to tie the final knot, completing the rosary. The core of a pearl is originally a foreign object; over time, the mollusk secretes layers of calcium carbonate, eventually forming a smooth and lustrous pearl. The formation of a pearl can symbolize how the suffering of life, when endured and refined, may be transformed into wisdom and virtue.
In this work, so long as I continue living, I continue creating.
我從1980年起開始使用胰島素，自1983年開始使用血糖機並記錄血糖值和胰島素的劑量，這些行為會產生一些醫療廢棄物。自1994年，我開始收集每日注射胰島素、檢驗血糖所產生的醫療廢棄物，將這些收集物一律放入大小統一的夾鏈袋，用馬克筆在袋上寫上醫療廢棄物產生的日期，到2022年1月為止約有500包。每一包收集完成的夾鏈袋都掃描成數位影像，依年份集結輸出於相紙。這些收集袋會依序排列在地面，用紅色針線從第一個收集袋串連到最後一個，線頭在生命結束後才打結。
我替這些收集袋取名為「珍珠」，以線繩將這些「珍珠」串連成一開口的念珠，在我生命結束後，請友人將線繩打結，完成這一串念珠。珍珠核心原本是外來物，經過貝類累積分泌碳酸鈣，最後形成圓潤光滑的珍珠。形成珍珠的過程可以象徵人生的痛苦在經過累積鍛鍊後是可以轉換成智慧與美德。在這個作品中，只要維持生命，就是在創作。
Each completed bag has been scanned into a digital image, and these images are compiled by year and printed on photographic paper. The original bags are arranged sequentially on the ground. A red thread is used to connect them, from the first bag to the last. The end of the thread will only be knotted after the end of my life.
I named these bags “pearls,” and strung them together with red thread to form an open-ended rosary. After my death, I have asked a friend to tie the final knot, completing the rosary. The core of a pearl is originally a foreign object; over time, the mollusk secretes layers of calcium carbonate, eventually forming a smooth and lustrous pearl. The formation of a pearl can symbolize how the suffering of life, when endured and refined, may be transformed into wisdom and virtue.
In this work, so long as I continue living, I continue creating.
我從1980年起開始使用胰島素，自1983年開始使用血糖機並記錄血糖值和胰島素的劑量，這些行為會產生一些醫療廢棄物。自1994年，我開始收集每日注射胰島素、檢驗血糖所產生的醫療廢棄物，將這些收集物一律放入大小統一的夾鏈袋，用馬克筆在袋上寫上醫療廢棄物產生的日期，到2022年1月為止約有500包。每一包收集完成的夾鏈袋都掃描成數位影像，依年份集結輸出於相紙。這些收集袋會依序排列在地面，用紅色針線從第一個收集袋串連到最後一個，線頭在生命結束後才打結。
我替這些收集袋取名為「珍珠」，以線繩將這些「珍珠」串連成一開口的念珠，在我生命結束後，請友人將線繩打結，完成這一串念珠。珍珠核心原本是外來物，經過貝類累積分泌碳酸鈣，最後形成圓潤光滑的珍珠。形成珍珠的過程可以象徵人生的痛苦在經過累積鍛鍊後是可以轉換成智慧與美德。在這個作品中，只要維持生命，就是在創作。
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Pearl Rosary, 1994-2024
