“i’ll believe your demons” is a video collage of images and sounds from Wuhan, the central Chinese city first struck by the increasingly globalized coronavirus. composed of widely-circulated social media footages taken by Wuhan residents during the peak of the city's outbreak and a rap song of the same title that went viral in the early days of China’s internet era, the scenes unfold almost entirely in the city’s local dialect, a vernacular known for its straightforward candidness and vulgar humor.
the title itself is the literal translation of a Wuhanese idiom, a sarcastic turn of phrase that conveys a simultaneous sense of disbelief, shock, anger and frustration.
the expression repeats itself throughout the sequence -- both in screams and whispers -- weaved together by vernacular monologues and conversations of grief, despair, care and hope.
shown at "this must be the place", an online group exhibition at 601Artspace.