May You Live 10, 000 Years

2024; Resin, flocking, plaster, metal, wig, ready-made objects, hand coloring; 39.4 × 36.6 × 46 in

The iconographic inspiration for this piece comes from mid-20th century Chinese propaganda posters, where the artist became particularly intrigued by the portrayal of children and their interactions with others. The chosen image of a child holding a longevity peach as a gift to elders carries a dual creative intention. First, from an anthropological perspective, gift-giving is a cyclical rather than a one-way process. When the little girl offers the peach, she symbolically “consumes” it, or is consumed by the symbolic meaning of the gift itself, signifying a reciprocal relationship of giving and being consumed. Second, in the secular East Asian context, the peach, a symbol of longevity, also carries gendered connotations when viewed from a contemporary female perspective, with its round curves and soft texture hinting at sexual undertones. Through this piece, Jin explores how fixed cultural symbols are reshaped by desire and gender consciousness in a modern context, bringing out the fluidity of these symbols over time. The tension between the original symbolism and the gendered social reality is further intensified by the physical attachment between the child’s face and the peach in the sculpture.