Source: Beijing Youth Daily
On October 16, World Food Day, artist Yang Yeju said that about 100 grains of pure gold rice would be thrown into the Huangpu River and other places that morning.
On October 13, he had thrown about 900 grains of rice made of pure gold into Shanghai's sewers, trash cans, huangpu river and other places.
In an interview with a Beiqing-Beijing headline reporter, Yang Yeju repeatedly confirmed that what he threw out was real gold. "I think food is more precious than gold."
Buy gold to build grains of rice and throw them away
It was questioned by a large number of netizens
Recently, some media broke the news of a performance art by artist Yang Yeqiu in Shanghai, where he made 500 grams of gold into 1,000 grains of golden rice, "and then threw them into all corners of the Huangpu River and Shanghai one by one, using this performance art to satirize the behavior of wasting grain and awaken the people's attention to food security." ”
"Stop waste with even greater waste?" "Obviously it's a hype, and no one knows if it's really thrown away." "Such a waste of gold satirizes the waste of food called art?" ...... Many netizens questioned this behavior.
Response: I want to be alert to myself and to others
On October 15, a Beiqing-Beijing headline reporter contacted Yang Yezhong, who responded to the matter.
"Different people have different views on this matter, and the level of acceptance is different, and I understand it." Yang Yeju said that he was born in the countryside, and he has known the hardships of farmers growing grain since childhood, and he is currently involved in both business and art circles. Before the relevant state departments issued an appeal, hoping that everyone would cherish the grain, but many people were concerned by a gust of wind and forgot after a while.
"I want to stand up and be alerted, and that's one of the reasons. On the other hand, when I usually order takeaway, if the rice delivered can't be eaten, it will be thrown away, which is also a wasteful behavior, and my heart is very entangled and painful. Yang Yeqiu said that he wanted to wake up himself and others.
More than a month ago, he selected a reputable jewelry seller from a shopping platform to buy gold and asked the other party to process it into a grain of rice, costing a total of about 230,000 yuan.
"Throwing away rice is like throwing away gold"
Beiqing-Beijing Headlines: There are many ways to wake up the world, why can't we take other means, such as making golden rice grains for exhibition?
Yang Yezhong: When the golden rice grains are exhibited, you are just comparing it, what about after everyone has seen it? Does not attract attention and reflection! I think the most important thing is to show the wasteful process. In fact, throwing away rice is like throwing away gold. That's the wake-up call.
Beiqing-Beijing Toutiao: Did you really buy 500 grams of gold to make 1,000 grains of "rice"?
Yang Yeju: Some people question that the rice is plated with gold powder, and some people think it is copper. I swear to Heaven that it is one hundred percent true, that "rice" is solid and exactly the same size as real grains of rice. To do such a thing, you need to show it sincerely. If it is a fake golden rice grain, I am definitely not confident. When there is a ghost in the heart, it will shrink back in the face of public opinion. This thing will certainly stand up to scrutiny.
Beiqing-Beijing Headlines: Have you thrown away all the 1,000 grains of golden rice you mentioned?
Yang Yezhong: There are about 100 grains left, and I plan to do it on International Food Day on October 16.
Beiqing-Beijing Headlines: When you threw this gold, did anyone witness it?
Yang Yezhong: There is no special money to find a photography and video crew to participate, but some photos are taken and videos will be taken. However, the grains of rice are relatively small, and they may not be able to see clearly when shooting.
Beiqing-Beijing Headlines: Where did you throw these things?
Yang Yezhong: Thrown into sewers, trash cans, Huangpu River and many other places in Shanghai. My intention was to express that rice is actually more valuable than gold.
Beiqing-Beijing Headlines: Is it too expensive to do a performance art like this?
Yang Yezhong: In fact, a lot of artistic creation needs to pay money. What we create is spiritual wealth, and art is more important than money.
Wen |Beiqing-Beijing headline reporter Dong Zhenjie