The Three Wise Monkeys, After Confucius (Beijing/China, 5m x 1m, 2014–22)

This large-scale digital montage reinterprets the ancient adage “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,” widely attributed to Confucian philosophy, within a satirical landscape of contemporary absurdity. Set in Tiananmen Square, the work presents a sensory dystopia: a crowd of figures with altered or obstructed faculties—eyes veiled by corporate logos, mouths gagged, ears hidden behind headphones or masks. Surveillance drones, plastic detritus, and symbols of technocapitalism saturate the sky. Like the original Three Monkeys—Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru—these figures appear to reject engagement, but not through moral restraint. Instead, they embody a paralysis of perception, induced by overload, distraction, or fear.

The work gains renewed resonance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. During global lockdowns, masks became a protective necessity; public spaces were emptied; and information was filtered through screens. The image captures this fractured experience, where human interaction was mediated, sensory experience dulled, and moral clarity often obscured by panic or politicisation. As Confucius said, “To see what is right and not do it is the want of courage” (The Analects, trans. Legge, 1893, 2.24). In this context, The Three Wise Monkeys becomes both a chaotic satire and a quiet moral prompt, nudging viewers toward ethical re-engagement amidst mediated disconnection and pandemic trauma.

References:
Confucius. (1893). The Analects of Confucius, trans. James Legge. Clarendon Press.
Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. London: Profile Books.