Yiding Chen

Image from “Borrowing light through a chiseled wall” project by Yiding Chen

Biography

Website: chenyiding.work

Yiding Chen (né en 2001) est un artiste qui vit et travaille entre Shanghai et Londres. Diplômé de l’East China Normal University, il poursuit actuellement un Master en photographie au Royal College of Art. Utilisant l’image comme médium et méthode, sa pratique interroge les dynamiques de pouvoir subtiles inscrites dans la culture visuelle, et plus particulièrement le rôle des images comme formes d’interaction sociale. Par la reconstruction et l’intervention matérielles, il examine les relations entre production d’image, expérience personnelle, conscience collective, normes sociales et structures de pouvoir.

The project

Myopia, once stereotyped as an “Eastern disease,” has long been shaped by implicit labeling in both media and academia.

This project juxtaposes myopia prevention practices in China and the West, using bodily rituals and visual culture as entry points to investigate the disciplinary logic and power structures underlying health-related behaviors across different cultures. In doing so, it reexamines everyday bodily practices and responds to the subtle, ambiguous cultural narratives and regulatory frameworks they produce.

In China, the state-mandated eye exercise program institutionalizes a hybrid of traditional Chinese medical massage and modern collective discipline. Through standardized acupoint stimulation synchronized with rhythmic music, it constructs a behavioral execution mechanism rooted in the body. As a state-led ritual integrated into daily life, it inherits the traditional understanding of bodily meridians while also embedding the modern logic of industrial efficiency.

Image from “Borrowing light through a chiseled wall” project by Yiding Chen

Image from “Borrowing light through a chiseled wall” project by Yiding Chen

In contrast, Western approaches to myopia prevention rely more on technological interventions—such as orthokeratology lenses and vision training charts—emphasizing individualized control and self-monitoring. These practices internalize medical standards into self-regulation through precise operational routines.

Despite their differing methods, both systems standardize bodily behavior through distinct yet overlapping disciplinary frameworks. Neutral health practices thus become coded behavioral norms, either externally imposed or internally adopted. By intervening in images—cutting, stretching, and repeating them—I reinterpret the physical gestures associated with vision care. This visual strategy exposes how “tradition” and “science” can converge within systems of medical governance, while questioning who holds the authority to define and interpret health behavior.

Ultimately, the project seeks to reveal how power subtly infiltrates the body and shapes self-perception through seemingly benign acts of prevention.