War and Peace — WU JUNHAO 吴俊豪

War and Peace 战争与和平

Apr 2022

"War and Peace," conceived in April 2022, is an artwork that grapples with the concepts of the legitimacy and justice of war during the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Amidst the turmoil that unfolded in February of the same year, this work emerges as a reflective critique and an introspective examination of warfare.

Artist wear the ghillie suit tied with the party poppers, and make the ghillie suit transform into an allegory for the duplicity of conflict-the celebration of some, juxtaposed against the desolation of others. The act of triggering the poppers punctuates the silence with eruptions reminiscent of gunfire, a sonic manifestation of both the violence of war and the revelry it entails for those who profit from its spoils. At the same time, the artist try to reminder that beneath the veneer of celebration, the specter of war looms, threatening to dissolve the precarious balance between life and death, joy and sorrow.

"War and Peace" represents the artist's hope for tranquility amidst chaos, an aspiration for an epoch where humanity triumphs over conflict, and once poppers triggering symbolize celebration of peace, not the cacophony of war.

“战争与和平”，创作于 2022 年 4 月，以俄罗斯-乌克兰冲突为创作背景，试图反思战争的正当性与正义性，以一种隔岸观火的姿态。

War and Peace (2022)
Video, 03:58

During the performance, the artist was stopped by the school staff because he did not report to the school in advance (even though Central Saint Martins is known as the most rebellious art school in the world).

战争与和平（2022）
视频，03：58

艺术家在表演过程中因为没有提前向学校（尽管中央圣马丁号称是世界上最叛逆的艺术学校）报备而遭到了学校工作人员的中止与礼貌驱逐。

In the face of this episode, the artist turned the conflict into peace and started cleaning up the party poppers' ribbons instead, meaning avoiding the conflict, cleaning up the battlefield, and returning to peace.

面对这一插曲，艺术家化干戈为玉帛，改为开始打扫地面残留的拉炮彩带，意为回避冲突，打扫战场，回归和平。

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