Reflective Journal — Enhancing Narrative and Storytelling

In my latest installation test, I found that the interactivity of the work met expectations – the audience was full of curiosity about the materials and was willing to step forward to touch, try and participate. However, I also realized that most of the time, I needed to be beside them to introduce the inspiration source and background story of the installation. This reaction came more from my oral explanations rather than the emotions conveyed by the work itself. However, merely interacting with the installation itself makes it difficult for the audience to immerse themselves in the story and emotions. The installation itself lacks a strong emotional appeal and is hard to achieve narrative quality.
To enable the audience to delve deeper into the context of the work, I decided to incorporate video narrative, using images to reinforce the history and emotions behind the “self-combing woman”. I collaborated with a friend who studies dance, attempting to recreate the spiritual ritual of the “self-combing girl” through body language and performance.
The story of the video will include five scenes:
Combing ceremony – A woman who has become a self-combing woman combs the hair of another woman who is about to become a self-combing woman, symbolizing her choice to remain independent and unmarried for life.
Wedding ceremony – In ancient times, self-combed women would have a symbolic “wedding” to have a cemetery after death. Before getting married, they would wrap themselves in white cloth to maintain their chastity.
The iron chain scene – The self-combing woman has a physical interaction with the iron chain. The iron chain not only symbolizes the constraints of social systems and gender norms, but also represents her struggle and struggle in consciousness.
The black veil in a British church – a self-combed woman in the contemporary era wears a black veil in a foreign church, symbolizing an identity and loneliness that transcends time and space.
Cutting the red line – symbolizing the moment when she finally breaks away from social expectations.
I hope to enhance the narrative and immersion of the work through the combination of video and installation, allowing the audience not only to “use” the installation but also to enter the story through their senses and emotions.