Yiding Chen
Borrowing Light Through a Chiseled Wall
Statement Myopia was once radicalised as an "Oriental disease." By comparing prevention practices in Eastern and Western contexts, I explore how health behaviours reflect underlying power structures. In China, state-mandated eye exercises merge traditional Chinese medicine with industrial-era discipline, using rhythmic music and standardised acupoint stimulation to shape collective body rituals. In contrast, Western approaches – like orthokeratology and visual training – emphasise individualised procedures, embedding discipline through medicalised self-monitoring. Though culturally distinct, both systems enforce bodily regulation through parallel forms of control. By juxtaposing these models, I question the neutrality of health practices, reveal how both "tradition" and "science" serve governance functions, and examine how power operates within the realm of preventive care.
Yiding Chen • Adam Dorgham • Michael Dwan • Samuel Nohe Ireland • Eliza Modzelewska • Nasrah Omar • Polina Piëch • Chandni Raithatha • Nick Rosenoer • Nik Simon • Yvann Zahui • Dashen Zhang • Nancy Xinrui Zhou •
University of Brighton
MA Photography
Falmouth University
MA Photography
Glasgow School of Art
Masters of Design in Photography
University of Portsmouth
MA Photography
Royal College of Art
MA Photography
Ulster University
MFA Photography