Sun Guaiwu

In recent years, I have come to recognize that the deeper driving force behind my practice is rooted in two interwoven structures: bloodline and what I refer to as the “male condition.”

In the Chinese context, bloodline is highly complex. It forms the foundation of traditional social structures, shaping a self-centered network organized through kinship relations. This network is ultimately elevated into a sacred genealogy, carrying imaginaries of continuity and stability. Individuals are embedded within it from birth, their positions determining corresponding rights and obligations. However, under the impact of modernization, this structure has undergone continuous transformation, placing individuals in ongoing tension between identity, responsibility, and meaning.

The “male condition” does not refer to men as such, but to a mode of existence that transforms an inner fear of death into a restless, outward-expanding drive. Through the pursuit of success and the transformation of others, it attempts to construct an illusion capable of resisting collapse. Oscillating between the desire for strength and the rejection of vulnerability, this condition ultimately tends toward breakdown or disillusionment. At the intersection of these two structures, my work points to a recurring pursuit of utopia, accompanied by its inevitable sense of loss.

Since 2023, I have been developing the Unfilial Son series, which continues to ask: as unfilial sons of the world, where can we ultimately go? The first work, Refractory, has been completed, while the second, The Infinite Game of Life, is currently in progress.

Methodologically, I focus on the interplay between different media, particularly by introducing installations, sculptures, and props—what I call “fictional artifacts”—into moving images. These elements function as structural redundancies, disrupting narrative coherence and displacing stable interpretation, drawing the viewer into a perceptual state that is diffuse and unsettled.