24 hours; 3 April 2014, 09:10 – 4 April 2014, 09:09
Location
Xinjingpai Art Museum, Beijing
Photography
Cai Qing
Cover image
Artist’s statement
Every heart living in Beijing is strong. Before this performance, my heart felt unusual, so I went to a hospital for an examination. I did not follow the medical advice about my activities, and recorded the process in detail. Finally, I had the monitoring record printed out and asked a doctor to assess it. This was a particular performance involving the “doctor–patient relationship.”
What is health, and how do we prove that we are healthy? When we hand our bodies over to an instrument, what can its test results tell us? By comparing 24 hours of cardiac monitoring with my own psychological and physiological sensations during those same 24 hours, I sought to discover whether there was a consistent, interconnected relationship between matter and consciousness.
Documentation
09
01The artist wearing the ambulatory ECG monitor in the performance setting.02The artist and the architectural setting during the monitored performance.03Physical activity during the period of cardiac monitoring.04Documentation of the monitoring record being reviewed at a computer.05The artist’s supplied medical record accompanying the performance, dated 8 April 2014.06The artist’s supplied ambulatory ECG report for the monitored performance.07ECG traces in the artist’s supplied monitoring report.08The artist’s handwritten activity log during the monitored performance.09The ECG monitor being fitted to the artist’s body.