Kezheng Wu

The set contains naturalistic elements within an abstract setting. Nine pieces of fragments from the real world in 1920s according to the nine episodes will be built up successively and finally form a leaning tower. This serves as a metaphor not only for the young woman, but for the unstable situation of many women at that time.

Machinal, is Sophie Treadwell’s ground- breaking expressionist play, written in 1928. Approaching Machinal, I was impressed by the driving force of the patriarchal society on the destiny of women in the 1920s. The play was broken into nine episodes, chronicling a tragedy of a woman’s compromise and resistance in a male-dominated society. I attempt to present the invisible and irreversible force which leading the young woman to murder her husband and face execution for the crime. I want to serve the sense of that propulsion, creating a juggernaut that pushes the young woman from moment to moment without the possibility of looking back.