Temporary Home No.131216

Temporary Home No.131216 expresses Chen Yuyun's feelings for his hometown, his sense of kinship for his clan, and his insights into the diasporic experience. Chen was born in Putian, China - also known as "the city of displacement". He witnessed how his neighbors and relatives migrated to another cities and struggled with cultural differences. These unusual migration encounters inspired the artist to create scenes that are hauntingly familiar yet profoundly strange. The complicated cultural identity of the migrant is transplanted to a psychological space labelled as "home". The bare furnishing in the painting indicates the transient quality of the resident, and the mottled walls and floor are textured with history. The painting whispers haunting memories and exudes a sense of pervasive loss.