Chinese millennials nowadays have huge social pressure that is often caused by high living costs, imperfect systems, complex relationships, and mental illness. Based on these frustrating situations I created a series of artworks to speak for our young millennials and draw people’s attention.
1. Heavy burden
China has used a one-child policy to control population growth for the past three decades. As the aging crisis intensified, the government introduced a two-child policy in 2015 and replaced it with a three-child policy in 2021. Women have to raise three children and bear a lot of housework. In some traditional families, the husband’s role in the family reflects that of a child. It creates a very burdensome environment for the wife, who cannot rely on her husband to take responsibility for the family.
Patriarchal ideology is still prevalent within rural China and among the older generation in the cities. The Seventh National Census (2020) shows that the sex ratio of China’s birth population is 111.3 (female = 100). Due to the unbalanced ratio of males and females, “boys lining up for blind dates with the girls choosing their preference” appeared in many places. Men are pressured to find a girlfriend in this competitive environment. Women are pressured to find a boyfriend in an overwhelming sea of options.
Loneliness has become the norm in today’s urban society. Young people move to the city, and it’s difficult for them to find friends. They meet people every day, but rarely stop to interact with them or become friends. Living in the city has made people colder and distrustful of each other. But when they do find a friend they can become soulmates and heal each other’s loneliness.
The housing prices are high and wages are low in China, but many young people still choose to buy a house.Because of the chaos in the rental market, young people feel insecure about renting houses. They need to worry about whether they encounter an dishonest agency or a landlord that kicks them out and refuses to return the deposit. In addition, Real estate is tied to marriage and education in China. It is difficult for young people to get married and have kids without a house. They are chained to the house the moment they signed the purchase agreement, turning it into their lifelong prison.
City life for many people is harsh, loud, different and invasive. In order to escape from this many people wear a helmet to block out the city, and in the process become more and more lonely.
People always think they know what is right for the others, but they are rarely right or know how the other person is feeling. What others think is the best gift is not what the recipient wants the most.
People wear different kinds of faces depending on the social occasions they find themselves in. They use it as a kind of self-protection to hide their true feelings. They will put on a mask to laugh and act happy even when they are anxious or depressed.
