Every year, during the Dragon Boat Festival, a herbal healing ceremony called “expelling wind and fire” is held in my hometown, Chengdu. The women in the family would go into...
Every year, during the Dragon Boat Festival, a herbal healing ceremony called “expelling wind and fire” is held in my hometown, Chengdu. The women in the family would go into the mountains to pick mugwort, sarcandra glabra, trifoliate-orange leaves, Chinese elder, Chinese wingnut leaves among other herbs efficacious in dispelling wind and promoting blood circulation. The female relatives of the family would then bare their backs together, chatting while receiving healing treatments from each other. This ritual has left a deep imprint on my bodily memory. The ritual holds a spine-like dome that constitutes my perception of home, a consolidation of kinship ties. It is also my original experience of nature and physical change. In 'Wind Passing through Our Bodies', I have recreated the scene of brewing herbs by replicating the roof of my home to convey the empathic rhythms resonating between the bodies, the festival, and the plants. Year after year, the wind brushes through the meridians of the plants, through my pores, as well as those of my female relatives, purifying us all while connecting our bodies, nature, and time.