How readily our thoughts swarm upon a new object, lifting it a little way, as ants carry a blade of straw so feverishly, and then leave it......
--- Virginia Woolf, “The Mark On The Wall”
It only takes a mark on the wall to bring us back to consciousness and make us cast off of the constant turmoil. It could be a nail, a resting snail, a mark from a broken flower petal, a mold on the wall of childhood house...... In the chaotic labyrinth of disorientation, it only takes a mark on the wall to evoke our wandering consciousness and free thoughts.
RUI SS2023 puts realism philosophy and language of intimate and free design into juxtaposition. In the Kafkaesque living space filled with discomfort and a sense of distortion, a grand parody show is about to begin, actors put on animalistic disguises, creating a sense of absurd and peculiar punch in the alienated world of eternal solitude.
In this stagnant status where only consciousness and feelings matter, the perceived external world surrounding us is both a projection from the body and an outlet for the body to perceive and express itself. The perceived world, as a collection of meanings created by our thoughts and actions, becomes a private virgin land where the flesh and the spirit come together. Clothing, as an extension of our physical body, forms a confinement, a mimetic way of being, an armor against the outside world. It is an extension of our body, and a social tentacle reaching out. It reinforces the real touch, and together with the wearer, forms a close connection between and the human body and clothing. Together, they point to the ultimate source of our unspoken anxiety.
RUI SS2023 collection presents a living spectacle in the post-human era. In the old house wrapped with delicate fabrics, only fragments of broken mirrors scattered around are left to show some traces about the struggles that took place, and secretly bring some hope for reliving a sweet old dream. Shibari performance directly points to our primitive desire of human touch, and evokes consciousness with discomfort and pain. Ropes, sharp accessories, and special-shaped heels are constantly present in the looks for the show. Hence a danger of tearing out softness of the garments is unceasingly lurking around, waiting for another strike to break the peacefulness.
A lifestyle that was once more vibrant and at ease has been recorded briefly and replayed here. People on camera were free to connect, to laugh, to confide and think. Such moments of the self have once been buried with some unsettling waves, and sealed in retro-style videotapes. They are lucky enough to be brought to light again, and show us there is always a voice that keeps raging, whispering, telling us that,
“Do not go gentle into that good night.”
