半 / Half | kateao

1/8

An object of around 20,000 torn halves of a portrait of Kate’s father and stuck together.

250 x 5 x 5 cm

Short film: 13 mins

The definition of 半(bàn): semi-, incomplete, (after a number) and a half.

半(bàn) comprises of two elements: a short film which is about the relationship between Kate and her mother, and a memory journey that she has based on the photographs of her father. Another element is an object of around 20,000 torn halves of a portrait of Kate's father stuck together. The work is about finding the meaning of destroyed photographs and why people have a strong emotional attachment to what it represents on photos. Photographs have been always are very violence objects in Kate's life, to rebuild the relationship with photography is an attempt to restore the relationship with herself and her family as well.