2024 CAFA Graduation Season | Luo Qimeng: Breaking out of the closed loop and getting embraced

TEXT:CAFA ART INFO    DATE: 2024.5.29

On May 1, 2024 CAFA Graduation Season was officially unveiled at CAFA Art Museum. Just as the theme “Direction of the Heart” contains good wishes and sincere expectations for Class of 2024 at CAFA, 2024 CAFA Graduation Season does not only contain their art achievements,  their enthusiasm and perseverance in creation are also reflected, which further conveys the imagination and expectations of young students as they embark on the road to the future.

09 Exhibition View of Keep Moving.jpg

10 Exhibition View of Keep Moving.jpg

Exhibition View of Keep Moving at CAFA Art Museum

Keep Moving

By Luo Qimeng, from School of Experimental Art and Sci-Tech Art at CAFA

The inspiration for this work comes from my real experience over the years. I have remained in a state of autism, repression, and depression for many years. I was unable to communicate with others in a normal way, thus I spent most of my time alone with myself, living in my own world with various unrealistic fantasies. Until one day after I was partially healed, I can muster my courage to share my experience with others, but I found that I no longer knew how to tell it, and my thoughts were too complicated and bloated. I was so eager to be loved and understood by others that my mind was always racing at the same time. Many ideas come up simultaneously in my mind , and I often get stuck or stutter when speaking, and my head therefore feels swollen and painful and I feel myself like a “mute.”

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05 Exhibition View of Keep Moving.jpg

Exhibition View of Keep Moving07 Installation Process of Keep Moving.jpg08 Installation Process of Keep Moving.jpgInstallation Process of Keep Moving

So I told my past experience into this work and handed it over to the outside world, allowing it to break out of the closed loop and be embraced. For me, as long as a visitor actively tries to break through this suffocating protective shell, this work that connects with the outside world has been established, and this truly heals me. In addition to self-reconciliation, I sincerely hope that I can bring love to the people around me. If possible, I also hope that I can speak out to the outside world for those who still cannot tell their pains, to break through that layer of shackles and achieve self-reconciliation. No matter what, don’t forget to keep moving, moving forward.

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The Creative Process of Keep Moving14 My instructor Lu Zhiqiang provided on-site guidance on the exhibition layout and sound playback..jpgMy instructor Lu Zhiqiang provided on-site guidance on the exhibition layout and sound playback.15 Instructor He Beili and me.webp.jpgInstructor He Beili and meCourtesy of Luo Qimeng, edited by CAFA ART INFO.