The main direction my work has taken in recent years has been one of exploring the manifold possibilities of the physical senses of taste and touch, there are two main aspects to my work; the first is social, In 1993 I moved to the “East Village” artist community on the eastern outskirts of Beijing, and along with some other friends began using my body to make art. In my works I used violent methods to transform myself. During that time, we had some run-ins with the local police and l was twice arrested and taken to the police station, living in such a reality, I sank into a depressed and anxious state, I avoided contact with others. For the whole of 1995 I had practically no contact with the rest of society, and instead sat at home thinking and reading.
The second aspect of my work arose from physiological reasons: after staying for long periods of time in my damp and gloomy room, seldom moving about, I suffered from a herniated disc in my back, and many strange ideas appeared in my mind. During the day I had very little contact with people, and after falling asleep at night I had many dreams. My dreams were mostly about attending meetings, parties and other social gatherings; there was a yearning for communication in me that gave rise to a kind of instinctive impulse. Sitting in my home, looking around, I found I was surrounded on all sides by everyday objects. In no particular order, just as they came to hand, I grabbed them and "communicated" with them (licked them). The list included a shoe, a mirror, a razor blade, a light bulb, wood, water, books, a candle and so on. However, the things that gave me the most profound taste experiences were living substances and animals, the instant my tongue touched fire, after the piercing pain, it caused a reaction of nausea and retching. For two or three days the tip of my tongue was numb and blistered, and I couldn't taste the flavour of anything I ate. When I licked mustard, my nose was filled with an irritating flavour, my tongue swelled and water streamed from my eyes. Out of the animals, the cat had a fishy-smelling film on the surface of its fur; it was extremely sensitive and would follow the direction of the tongue with its body movements. The dog is a master taster, with a tongue that is wet but full of warmth, that stretches out and draws back with a smooth flexibility, It was the scaly skins of lizards and snakes that gave me the deepest impression. Their surfaces are covered with a fishy-smelling coldness, and have a macabre feeling that is quite terrifying.
As the list of things I have licked increased, I started to be more selective in my licking, choosing objects that represent Chinese culture and symbolic buildings. When I prostrated myself on the ground in front of Tian'anmen Gate, the policeman standing nearby shouted "The ground is dirty, get up off there!" I thought he was concerned I would get my clothes dirty. When I stuck out my tongue and licked the ground, it was covered with dust and people's phlegm, and tasted very strange. On the other hand, when I licked the ground at the Unit 731 Museum (Japanese Germ Warfare Experimental Base) in Harbin, I found it to be dry and bitter, and there was a stifling feeling in the air. The ground at both the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall had a sort of deeply meaningful, magical flavour. I carried out those works in a pious and devoted frame of mind. The culture of eating and drinking has been developing in China for a few thousand years, and occupies an important position in Chinese culture as a whole. It is one of the ways in which the Chinese seek physiological pleasure; Chinese people attach much importance to the taste of food, paying little attention to its nutritional content. This is just the opposite of Westerners, who regard the nutritional content of food as more important than the way it tastes. My way of describing this is to say that Chinese culture is an upper body culture while Western culture is a lower body culture. Works that involve licking are therefore best done by a Chinese person.
