Wan Chaoqian: All Ends Well
This post is also available in:
简体中文 (Chinese (Simplified))
English
Over the past two years, Wan Chaoqian has been noticing bathroom design: showers, bathtubs, towel racks, scented candles, and tiles of every kind. Modern bathrooms all follow the same logic—they offer comfort when you’re at your most exposed. Water pressure is steady, and the temperature is controlled. Glossy, spotless tiles bring order to your drifting thoughts. They calm you, keeping you between the mirror and your phone.
Tiles are surfaces of perfection. They don’t absorb—only reflect. Just like a smartphone screen, information flows across them, with no way out. The real exits—the drainage and ventilation—however, are hidden. They bear the true flow, carrying away excrement, soap suds, and what’s left of desire. They empty out your overload today, just to refill you tomorrow.
Even the drain covers are designed now, as if the flaw must also be flawless. Like a plane circling above the city—so long as it never lands, you’ll never see the panic of rush hour. Only the beauty of the view.