This old video work depicts Liang Shaoji walking barefoot on metal shavings begrimed with engine oil, dirt and silk. It is full of courage, hesitation, fear, blood, pain and choices, which ends with a scene that moths flapping wings out of cocoons on the shavings. In 1992, Liang started to research and experiment if soft skinned and vulnerable silkworms would spin on sharp and deadly metal shavings and how. And seven years later, he was eager to know what silkworms might feel if it was metal shavings they were spinning on. He made a video of his way to the answer. He got a full truckload of shavings and spread them all over the factory's courtyard. The factory workers became Liang's audience for this solitary and brutal performance.

"I didn't expect it to be that painful. The smaller the shavings were, the worse the pain were. There was no way out, no way to escape from the pain except walk forward to the end of courtyard. I had to go to hospital afterwards. It was the moment that I felt like any human being in distress had no way to give up or to get out of the situation he/she was in. He/she had to move forward fearless." (Liang)

LSJU020

Nature Series No. 24, 25