Anran Guo:
Proactive Cynicism

“Other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them.” — Diogenes.

It is human nature to turn away from information or situation that are sad, dark, and cruel. Most people can easily spend hours on their phone smiling and watching cute kitten and puppy videos, but be disturbed and repelled when watching the documentary of newborn male chicks being shredded.

Nothing will be changed if people look away. Humour and metaphor provide the best weapon and shelter to ease the struggle and exhaustion from resistance and open passways for expression and communication. Daily objects bridge disturbing facts with their shared familiarity and original functional intentions, slip in alarms to self-deception.

From the garbage bin trap and the soccer ball with caster wheels, duck decoys with rolling eyes to watering fake grass. Proactive Cynicism develops discussion about sugar-coated social hypocrisy by employing the methodology of humour, showcasing visual fables created by Anran Guo from daily objects, and investigating social overtones and cultural implications that the daily objects carry. Confront the viewers to question the existing norms and self-fabricated deceptions.