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In January of 2020, I just finished an exhibition in Beijing, as the Spring Festival approached, I went back to my parents home, after a few days, Covid-19 began to spread. My parent and I did not panic a lot, every day we paid attention to the news, did our best to wear masks, reduced the purchase of daily needs, and carried on our everyday life in the lockdown step by step. Since then, I spent four months in the lockdown with my parents and two cats. It is the most extended period since I left home at 16. We sit around a different table every day, moving from desk to dining-table, making me feel like every day is a cycle of Deja Vu. 

The biggest problem for me was that I couldn’t get into the print studio for the first few months; this sudden change disrupted my printing plans. This situation also has dramatically changed how I paint; I began to use the iPad to record these unusual days. I try to use a way to document my daily emotions by using drawing for my diary.

Each day, I will add one arm to record my day’s feelings (the arms and hands’ position represent the day’s mood). I wonder what diary of emotions I will have on the day when Covid-19 ends.

In my daily repeated record of the state simultaneously, my city also ushered in lifting the lockdown around May 2020. Due to everyone’s efforts, my city is not troubled by Covid-19, but such actions also need our persistence. It’s been a year since the start of the 2020’s epidemic and will usher in the Spring Festival of 2021. I write this paragraph, and this diary work is still going on. I believe that all these things happened during this period will potentially influence my creation.

Words by Kecheng Zhu on 01/02/2021