· Women at Work

Women at Work

她们都在忙着工作

Focusing on "action" as a continuous perspective and method, ZhenZhen Zhong explores issues related to female identity in "Women at Work - Playground." This ongoing series portrays busy and complex portraits of women in strong occupational roles such as housewives, diplomats, waitresses, secretaries, textile workers, sex workers, teachers, nurses, and stars.

However, we don't see complete faces or bodies of women; instead, we see interconnected, grafted hands growing twisted like old trees. "Creating a better life with one's own hands" is a traditionally extolled virtue and a survival skill for most women. These hands, along with the dynamic components in the work, form a bizarre "collective female body," resembling a machine that continuously produces value.

While critical, the work also has many humorous. For instance, the female teacher's preaching is visualized as repetitive "chanting", and the ceaseless forced overtime is symbolized by the "chǎng fū" bird—according to "The Classic of Mountains and Seas," eating this bird's meat eliminates the need for sleep. In this resigned self-mockery, we see that women's glory and struggles are always intertwined, inseparable.

以“行动”作为持续的着眼点和工作方法，钟慧侦在《她们都在忙着工作》中持续叩问着女性身份相关议题。这是一个仍在进行中的作品系列，艺术家以家庭主妇、外交官、服务员、秘书、纺织女工、性工作者、教师、护士、明星……等女性存在感较强的职业为题材，描绘了一幅忙碌而繁杂的女性肖像。

然而，从中我们看不到完整的女性面孔或身体，更多的是彼此勾连、嫁接，如老树般扭曲生长的女性的手。“用自己的双手创造美好生活”是传统美德不断宣扬的意向，也是大部分女性赖以生存的技能。这些手，连同作品上的动态构件形成了一个怪异的“女性集体肉身”，也像是一台不断生产价值的机器。

这件作品在批判的同时不乏幽默感。比如，女教师的说教被作品具象化为循环往复的“念经”；无休止的被迫熬夜加班则用（chǎng fū）的形象作表现——《山海经》说，只要吃了这种鸟的肉，就再也不用睡觉了。在无奈的自嘲中，我们看到，女性的荣光与困顿也总是相生相伴，难解难分。