Even in Fear
Zhou Xiaohu
周啸虎
Production date
2008
Object Detail
Media
balloon, pumps, PLC controller
Measurements
dimensions variable
Notes
Even in Fear (2008) evokes an inexorable build-up of pressure. A weather balloon very slowly inflates, its rubbery skin stretched thinner and thinner, pressing against the ceiling of the gallery. Then it deflates once more, becoming a wrinkly empty bag. The inflation and deflation is repeated, over and over again. Zhou says the work reflects on ‘the human desire for expansion’; it evokes the pressures experienced at every level of contemporary society, in China and globally. The balloon’s expansion manipulates the personal space and the emotional response of the viewer. Eventually, inevitably, the balloon will burst, and the entire cycle must begin again.
Accession number
2012.109