2019none of your business

NONE OF MY BUSINESS

NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS

A collaboration artwork with social engaged Art

performance, installation

Chen Ningjing,Feng Jiazhen

Foreword:

I was looking for a suitable location in Chinatown, London. And asked a lot of "people who sat on the floor" for help if they could take pictures with me, or could we just have a small talk, it's like a job and I can pay them.

But most of them reject me because they are "inconvenient" or "wages" too low. Later, I found a gentleman who sat in front of the door of the medicine store. Said him hello and he responded to me warmly, and I asked him if he wants a small talk and handed him proper Chinese cigarettes, he told me he doesn't even care about the salary.

"Do you work here, or you're just having a rest, sir?" I asked.

"I'm here, uh, it's my job, it's just a habit." I sat down for the first time in the street, felt immediately that those "sit on street people" are having no different to me, but those passers-by who hurried past us live in another world, they seem so tall, so hurried as if there always has a thing needs to do. "When you sit down and look up at the world, it doesn't mean you're inferior, it's about having a calmer, more rational heart." "My mental activity was like this.

I shook hands with this anonymous gentleman, his hand was very warm, like the one who drifting for a long time, very skillfully take care of their own body. He said his wife had died thirteen years earlier and his work was gone. Since then he has lived on a wandering life, from Madrid, Spain, to Berlin, Germany, and now in London for about two-and-a-half years, most recently in the vicinity. For the sake of the exchange of information, I told him that I'm a student, studying art, very concerned about this world and I haven't got any job yet, and this parade board is my artwork. he seemed very supportive and willing to take pictures with me. I gratefully gave him a few more cigarettes.

"NONE OF MY BUSINESS" performance

Shaftesbury Avenue London，photo by Chen, Ningjing

"I want to make an artwork that reflects the relentless indifference of society, " Chen Ningjing told me. I was instantly showing the interest because I guess what she said must have had come up with a whole bunch of stories behind her.

In fact, "NONE OF MY BUSINESS" would also trigger to think about I've heard it before in my life. It doesn't feel good but happens all the time.

'When I first came to London to work, not familiar with the rules of work here, when I didn't think so much and starting work at a bubble tea shop, I didn't get paid after, I went to the relevant departments for help, even if it was a little clear advice of how to sort out. The result was only one sentence " NONE OF MY BUSINESS" said by the officer. Now I've been chasing that salary for months. She said.

What she said reminds me of the many more harrowing, heartbreaking and unsupervised social conflicts

For example, the war in Afghanistan, China's collective obscenity of red, yellow and blue kindergarten incidents, South Korea's "N" room case, the lost of MH370，the compatriots of the uneven distribution of production materials to african-American and any other a series of social problems so on. We seem to be close to these events, as we can talk about them on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. But sadly these events are also far away from us because there are so many, perhaps today's war started in a region, the killing of ordinary people in a certain neighbourhood, tomorrow will be drowned by another new round of "Breaking News"

Diffusion of responsibility is a commonly growing collective behaviour. A human society, which is gradually disintegrating by the tools of information-based production, seems to be accelerating the fragmentation of our behavioural and cognitive norms. People seem to be unapologetic about their indifference, but themselves are irresponsible and irresponsible to others. It's a typical, such as London's massive environmental demonstrations almost every few years, and after a march in 2019, I went to Hyde Park and saw the scene was shocked by then, the grassland full of rubbish. It's ironic that everyone thinks everyone is responsible for public health except themselves, so everyone is not being responsible anymore. Maybe the protection is just a saying? Perhaps the parade itself is has been corporatized, commercialized entertainment?

ONE NIGHT STAND Exhibition

"I want to use the slogan "NONE OF MY BUSINESS" as a counter-attack! I put forward a further plan. This time, we want to be the person who pretends to be aloof, we want to use the "pathetic" way to attract more people's attention, although "NONE OF MY BUSINESS" is a very rude, very reckless slogan, but only our "pretend apathy", can make those forgotten events, back into people's eyes.

After a series of discussions and research, Ningjing and I decided to start with a language tag, slogan, going with a performance, the name is called "NONE OF MY\YOUR BUSINESS", which is original from the officer's mouth who work for the government system.

The main stage of the work is divided into two parts, one is the production of props, and the selection of scenes. We chose advertising stickers, stickers with slogans, street performances in front of M&M store, Chinatown, the "workplace" of the homeless, and the "NONE OF MY BUSINESS" label on the most forgotten places in the public place, such as the red telephone booths and telephone poles that have been ignored. Along with our work stickers are: Plumber please call: 077********* or "Exotic journey with a beautiful woman " and so on.

After the shoot, we selected the album and make a collection of photographs presented at Cook House Gallery at Chelsea School.

Exhibits include a documentary album, a wall of slogans, and a stack of stickers with "NONE OF MY MY BUSINESS" and "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS".

And there is a big slogan sticks on the Gallery:"