

HFI Anthropocene: Textures of Life
Life is a delicate tapestry, where every thread carries the whispers of genes, the dance of cells, and the song of blood. On this tapestry, the interwoven and layered textures record the journey of every soul. Each breath, each heartbeat, is an indispensable stroke in the fabric of life.
Within this tapestry, disease appears like discordant notes, disrupting the once harmonious melody. They are the shadows in the weave of life, reminding us to pay attention to the overlooked corners, the places in need of healing and care. Disease, at times, creates fractures in the fabric of life, but it also bears witness to growth and resilience. It teaches us how to coexist with fragility and how to find strength in adversity.
Our Team
We are HFI Anthropocene, formed by a group of students who are passionate in anthropology, life science and arts.
In the era of humanity, we have been committed to exploring the mysteries of the human history and understanding the essence of life sciences.

Bernice Wang
Chief Curator
Leader/Founder of Anthropocene

Jennifer Jiang
Assistant Curator
Founder of Anthropocene

Blake Xie
Assistant Curator
Founder of Anthropocene

Sarah Zhong
Assistant Curator
Founder of Anthropocene
We Are HERE!
As the New Year rings in, HFI Anthropocene made its way to the 2025 Guangzhou Illustration Art Fair. There, we mingled with a host of painters and curators, exchanging ideas and insights, and sharing the distinctive perspectives on life, illness, and health that our paintings bring to life. We also had a little corner for selling our cool merchandise. The money we raised went to the Guangzhou Welfare Institute, the Lingnan Education Charity Foundation, and HFI C.A.T.S. It's all about helping kids and cats grow up healthy and happy.
It's Finally Happening!
After over four months of careful planning, the Textures of Life art exhibition has finally come to life at The Affiliated High School of SCNU!

Beneath the Surface

The psychological texture is an exploration of one's self-awareness, a delicate interweaving of emotion and reason, a dialogue between the subconscious and the conscious mind. On a psychological level, we experience the full spectrum of life's joys and sorrows, feeling the depth and breadth of existence. Yet, the fluctuations of emotion, the distortions in cognition, the deviations in behavior, and the inner struggles make the inner world of individuals both complex and profound. It is precisely these challenges that compel us to understand ourselves more deeply, to learn the art of managing emotions, and to cultivate resilience. Psychological therapy, art therapy, writing, and other methods can help us reweave this psychological fabric, rendering it stronger and more vibrant.
Old Man in Sorrow by Vincent van Gogh. Photo: Public Domain.


Within me drifts an ethereal realm of illusions. The shrill murmurs and the crawling sensation on my skin, like a trail of ants, blur my senses. Where am I truly?
Hallucination
Sarah Zhong
For those suffering from mental illnesses, hallucinations—whether auditory, tactile, or visual—distort their perception of reality. Their thoughts become tangled, their world unreal, making communication a near impossibility.
I Wish I Can Eat Your Cancer
林麓舟
A heart-shaped box brimming with carnivorous orchids and bruised fruits is the most fitting coffin for one who harbors a malignant tumor in their emotions. How I wish I could consume the melancholy of your cancer.
Reactionary depression or Secondary depression occurs when an individual experiences depressive symptoms in response to the stress and emotional turmoil associated with a physical illness diagnosis. The individual may feel overwhelming sadness, hopelessness, or despair upon learning about their physical illness. This emotional reaction can be intensified by fears about the future, potential loss of health, or changes in lifestyle. The individual may also struggle with feelings of loss related to their identity or purpose, especially if the illness affects their ability to work, engage in hobbies, or fulfill responsibilities.


Dandelion
林麓舟
Born in the hallucinogenic amniotic fluid, the newborn black goat, not yet shed of its warm and damp placenta, forever hides in the black hole of childhood and dandelion flowers. As the band you belong to plays an unfamiliar song, your brain injury leaves you unable to remember to bring along your guitar.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a disruption in normal brain function caused by an external force, which can lead to potential impairments in cognition, emotion, and behavioral regulation.The consequences of these injuries highlight the importance of recognizing TBI in the context of treating behavioral health conditions. TBI can not only cause behavioral health problems but also produce related deficits that can undermine the effectiveness of treatment for behavioral health conditions.

Lily's Saturday
Elio C.
Bipolar Calender of Mask of the Day.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition characterized by alternating episodes of elevated moods, known as mania or hypomania, and periods of depression. These extreme shifts in mood can significantly impact a person's ability to function daily, maintain relationships, and manage their life. The cause of bipolar disorder is not fully understood but is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Effective treatment, including medication and therapy, can help manage symptoms and enable individuals with bipolar disorder to lead fulfilling lives.

Hollowness
Elio C.
Deep in my chest an echo ever lasts.
Hollowness is a term sometimes used to describe an emptiness or lack of fulfillment felt by individuals experiencing certain mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder. It can manifest as a feeling of disconnection from one's self, others, or the world around them. This sense of emptiness might be accompanied by a lack of motivation, interest, or joy in activities that were once pleasurable.

Struggle
Echo/ Yoyo
Beneath the texture lies the current of consciousness, the vigor of life unfolding. We possess the wondrous gift of imagination, yet also the shadows of depression, anxiety, and the storms of irritability. Our thoughts scatter like tangled yarn, yet weave together like the arc of a rainbow. When plummeted into the abyss of self-awareness, may you break free and feel the full spectrum of joy, sorrow, anger, and pleasure.

Memories Woven Like Threads of the Faded Past
Jennifer Jiang
A shattered glass bottle serves as the vessel for memories, adorned with neurons and vivid, colorful threads of yarn seeping through its cracks. This poignant imagery symbolizes the loss and disarray in the elusive memories of those afflicted with Alzheimer's, where the past leaks away like the shattered fragments of a once whole vessel.
‘Somatizational’ Blossom
章子菡
Through the form of electronic collage, the somatic symptoms accompanying depression or anxiety are expressed. Hand skeletal models resembling wings on both sides represent the symptom of hand tremors, while the central human skeleton, altered in transparency, embodies the symptom of bodily trembling.
Somatization is a psychological phenomenon where individuals experience physical symptoms that cannot be fully explained by a general medical condition or as a direct result of a substance. It's a way for the mind to express emotional distress through the body, such as converting anxiety into physical pain or fatigue. This process is unconscious and distinct from intentionally feigning symptoms, which is known as malingering. Somatization is often associated with conditions like depression and anxiety and can lead to a variety of physical complaints, including pain, gastrointestinal issues, and sexual symptoms.


Reconciliation
Jennifer Jiang
"Reconciliation" aims to depict the complex inner world of individuals with anxiety disorders. The artwork incorporates aesthetic elements such as bubbles (symbolizing the behavior of repeated washing) and numbers (representing the incessant counting, such as counting floors, which reflects characteristics of obsessive-compulsive disorder) to convey common psychological symptoms experienced by adolescents with anxiety. The main character in the piece is rendered with dreamlike color combinations, intended to express the vibrant inner world that persists amidst the constraints of mental illness.
Original Interactive Picture Book:
The Magic Journey of Relief
「No-Worries Club」Blake Xie /Minerva Huang
The book presents a wondrous adventure of the soul in the form of a picture book, aiming to educate children in an entertaining way about the mental health benefits of art therapy. In this story, we embark on a unique journey to a ball with little bunny Hearty. At the ball, children will make a "dress" for the bunny with their own hands. Let's weave a beautiful dance dress for Hearty together, crafting the texture of our own lives.
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Chains Of Disease

Society is the invisible bond between people, the grand stage of shared living, providing us with collective wisdom and emotional support to combat diseases. Under different cultural backgrounds, people's understanding and response to diseases vary, but what is common is the respect for life and the desire for health. However, in the interactions between people, diseases spread along these veins, forming chains. Culture and customs weave people's thoughts and behaviors together, creating a collective memory and identity, forging our society. They are lifestyles passed down from generation to generation, people's cognition and interpretation of the world. The wisdom contained in customs can sometimes help us prevent and treat diseases. However, certain customs may also inadvertently become a breeding ground for diseases, such as some unhygienic customs that may increase the risk of disease transmission.
New Pathogen, Old Politics by Alex de Waal


Installation Art:
Long Wun: A Narrative
Bernice Wang
As a living ritual, "Long Wun" is a vivid and immersive ritual. When we envision the scene of "Long Wun," our minds often picture a group of people sitting around a round table, meticulously rolling tea cups and rice bowls, allowing every part of the utensils to be soaked in tea water, the crisp clinking of porcelain objects, and the graceful curves of water. Inspired by my study of "Long Wun", a pre-meal etiquette in South China that rinses the tableware,regarding its cultural significance and how it impacts people's concept of Cleanliness from a public health perspective, I created an installation art piece that combines a set of everyday tableware from Guangdong with an accordion book to capture the dynamic beauty of "Long Wun" and the interaction between people and tableware. As the audience explores this installation, they can find hidden accordion books inside tea cups and teapots; these books, shaped like the circular bottom of the tableware and connected page by page, introduce amusing stories between the actual users of this set of tableware and "Long Wun," as well as the significance behind "Long Wun" in this survey. Through this piece, I hope to transform and disseminate the "Long Wun" cultural tradition of the Guangdong region in a relatively light- hearted and interesting artistic form.
If you are interested in my study, feel free to read my paper!

"From the bustling streets of Guangzhou to the quiet corners of family gatherings, "Long Wun" weaves a narrative of respect, hygiene, and community."

Kung Fu Tea
Blake Xie
In the ancient Chaoshan area of Guangdong, Kong Fu tea carries a legacy as old as time, a cultural thread that weaves the hearts of the Eastern Guangdong people together in a tapestry of shared warmth and camaraderie. Yet, within this cherished ritual, the searing heat of the Kong Fu tea can silently scorch the esophagus, sowing the seeds of transformation that may bloom into the unwelcome guest of cancer.
The mechanism behind this risk involves the repeated exposure of the esophagus to hot liquids, which can lead to chronic inflammation and DNA damage that may result in cancerous cell changes over time. A study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, which involved half a million Chinese adults, suggested that daily tea consumption might be associated with an increased risk of esophageal cancer and stomach cancer, although the study did not specifically address Kung Fu tea.
Health Wall of East and West
Bernice Wang
In the long river of history, public health promotion posters are not only tools for health education but also carriers of cultural exchange and the spirit of the times. Through a series of Chinese and Western public health propaganda posters, I hope to show the perception and response strategies towards the same disease under different cultural backgrounds.


Personal Hygiene


Tuberculosis


Vaccination

