You Huang

"The Curse of the Bamboo Flower"

Section MS6, Gabriella Demczuk

Keywords: photography, ecology, printing, material, narrative, archive, health

During the flowering stage of bamboo, a large number of seeds are produced, leading to an increase of the rat population. When the bamboo flowers die, rats have less food, turning to other sources, including food stored by humans. This often brings diseases such as the plague, which has been demonstrated in a number of recorded plague outbreaks.

The Hong Kong plague of 1894, as a historical event, provides a lens for reflecting on the relationship between humans and nature. Using the cyanotype technique, archival images and images of the bamboo growth cycle are transferred onto transparent glass, creating a projection that highlights these connected moments under varying angles and lighting conditions.

The project emphasizes the vulnerability of life and the unpredictable interplay between natural and historical cycles. Through layered cyanotype prints and textured bamboo frames, viewers are invited to experience the "unknowns of nature" and the "possibilities of regeneration," exploring the complexity of the bamboo life cycle and its connection to the meaning of human existence.