Rocking in Mini Zen Garden is a mixed-media installation work that takes over a toilet in the historical tenement building in Hong Kong and reimagines it as a paradise for humankind to rest their mind during the pandemic. Lam wants the transformation to become the safest place for people looking for a holiday destination; an ideal location for cleansing the human body and soul. The installation twists around the idea of a pandemic hideaway and people living with the uncertainty during COVID-19.
Lam's adaption of a Zen Garden displays rocks she found near her neighbourhood, Chun Yeung Estate, where there is a quarantine camp for positive COVID cases in Hong Kong. She reimagines these rocks as mountains and from there, she visualises herself trying to climb up and over the mountain peak, tracing her steps and her path with thread, leaving behind her tracks. Set within the installation, they can be interpreted as a village map of mountains, a place for mindful meditation.
The installation also includes Meditation On Toilet Paper, shower curtains made of toilet paper, that she has stitched with lines reminiscent of the markings racked into the sand of a real Zen garden. It is meant to provide comfort, as opposed to the fear and uncertainty when people fought over toilet paper. Like an illogical joke, Lam's toilet has become a safe place for the COVID weary, a place where people can be mindful, find peace and cleanse.
Click here to know more about how Jaffa Lam preparing her disCONNECT installation.
