Digital image, size variable, 2023.

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Installed at The Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts. Photo by Tianjiao Wang.

On Tuesday night, October 25th, 2022, I walked into the room where Tianjiao installed her works for our weekly critique session. I was the first visitor, which might be the reason for us to have a backstage conversation before the official viewing. There were several objects in the room and I was not paying attention to any particular one. Tianjiao pointed to a Samsung monitor on the ground and told me that she borrowed it from the media center and intended to screen some video on it, but it turned out to be broken. Then she thought maybe she could claim that that broken monitor—I remembered that Hito Steyerl—who was liked by Tianjiao—had this monitor-breaking work STRIKE—was a work of hers to somehow trick people. But she was not so sure about this idea. She turned the monitor on, and people came. She gave a speech to clarify what were the works to be viewed but she somehow skipped the broken monitor situation. Most people were gathering around and looking at objects that had clear designations. But I noticed there were two or three people around that broken monitor and Tommy was kneeling on the ground and touching that broken monitor with his index finger. I approached him and tried to stop him from doing that because I had got an electric shock from touching a broken screen before. “I don’t believe this.” Tommy said. I was confused. I first thought Tommy was saying he did not believe that “touching a broken screen will give you electric shock.” Then I realized Tommy was saying he did not believe that the monitor was in fact broken—the broken screen could be an image of a broken screen. I was shocked, not by electricity, but by my credulousness in the first place. And then I realized that the image of Tommy the Korean young man in front of me looked very much like the doubting Thomas. And then I also realized that the name “Tommy” was “Thomas” made cute.

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