1090 Days
2023
Poster Design
Over the nearly four years of the global COVID-19 pandemic, "disinfection" has become a defining act of the era, deeply etched into the collective memory. Using posters and calendars as mediums, we have condensed this period into a "Memory Development" installation—it is not only a record of time but also a medium to awaken shared memories.
The core of the installation is a calendar documenting the 1,090 days of the pandemic in China (from lockdown to reopening). We abandoned the Gregorian calendar and followed the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, dividing the period into the Year of the Pig (Jihai), Year of the Rat (Gengzi), Year of the Ox (Xinchou), and Year of the Tiger (Renyin), weaving this unique time into a localized narrative. The text on the calendar is deliberately hidden and requires a "disinfection" act to develop: after spraying disinfectant (sodium hypochlorite), the blank areas gradually fade within minutes, revealing the hidden text. This design elevates "disinfection" from a functional act to the core creative medium—each spray becomes a profound dialogue with the memory of the era.
To achieve this effect, we conducted numerous experiments. Initial attempts with traditional batik's hot wax resist technique failed, leading us to transparent water-based UV ink screen printing. Once the ink penetrates the paper and dries, it becomes completely invisible yet resists the bleaching effect of the disinfectant, ensuring the text appears clearly. The paper chosen is blue-washed paper, whose hue closely matches the color value of hospital bedsheets, evoking associations with pandemic-related scenes.
The final work transcends the limitations of visual design by incorporating the interactive act of "disinfection," extending from action to visual documentation, and merging calendars and posters in a cross-disciplinary fusion. As each person sprays the disinfectant differently, the fading effect on every calendar is unique. These are no longer cold records but become distinct archives of individual dialogue with the era, allowing the days defined by "disinfection" to vividly endure in memory.
新冠疫情全球大流行近四年，“消毒”已成为一个时代的标志性行为，深深烙印在集体记忆中。我们以海报与日历为载体，将这段岁月凝练为“记忆显影”装置——它既是对时间的记录，更是唤醒共同记忆的媒介。
装置的核心是一份记录中国疫情1090天（从封锁到解封）的日历。我们摒弃公历纪年，依循中国传统历法，将其划分为己亥猪年、庚子鼠年、辛丑牛年、壬寅虎年，以本土化叙事串联起这段特殊时光。日历上的文字被刻意隐藏，需通过“消毒”行为完成显影：喷洒消毒水（次氯酸钠）后，短短几分钟内，无文字区域逐渐褪色，隐藏的文字随之浮现。这一设计让“消毒”从功能性行为升华为创作的核心媒介，每一次喷洒，都是与时代记忆的深刻对话。
为实现这一效果，我们历经多次实验。最初尝试传统蜡染的热蜡防染技术未果，后转向透明水性UV油墨丝网印刷——油墨渗入纸张干透后完全隐形，却能抵御消毒水的漂白作用，确保文字清晰显现。纸张选用青色水洗纸，其色调接近医院床单的颜色值，唤起与疫情相关的场景联想。
最终作品突破了平面视觉的局限，融入了“消毒”这一互动行为，从行为到影像记录，再到日历与海报的跨界融合。由于每个人喷洒消毒水的方式各异，每张日历的褪色效果都独一无二，它们不再是冰冷的记录，而成为个体与时代对话的独特档案，让那段被“消毒”定义的日子，得以鲜活地留存于记忆之中。
Creator_Bosen
Poster_2023 / 500 x 700mm / 300g青色水洗纸 / 水性透明uv油墨 / 丝网印刷 / 消毒水 / 30组（4张/组）
