Jiacai Wu is a fine arts student from China, currently studying at Monash University. Her work often addresses social issues in China, including banned topics and gender biases. Inspired by her upbringing in China, she expresses repressed emotions through her art. Her style is predominantly black and white, using ink as a medium to create a distinctive blend of calligraphy and emotional expression, delivering a strong visual and emotional impact.
The Line of Desire
The medium of this work is ink, applied on absorbent white paper for both painting and writing. The heavy use of ink is intended to convey memories of experiences in China, resembling a river of consciousness. These memories consist of suppressed, denied, and restricted expressions, with accumulating negative emotions in the subconscious. Over time, these emotions start to resist and release, becoming an outpouring of feelings.
Belittled Women
In China, there is a stereotypical saying about women: 'Long hair, short knowledge,' implying that women are narrow-minded and lack insight. This phrase is used to belittle women, reinforcing a stereotype intended to control them. In the painting, the woman's long hair symbolizes oppression, extending toward the Chinese characters on the right.
Sensitive Words in China
This is an expression of censored words through calligraphy—words like 'sex,' 'politics,' 'masturbation,' and 'homosexuality' that cannot be spoken aloud. These words are banned from Chinese social media, the internet, and even daily conversations. When mentioned, people instinctively avoid them. The list of prohibited words continues to grow, forcing people to use metaphors in place of the actual terms.
In the spirit of reconciliation Monash University acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
