The video I understand (2020), by Hao Jingban, opens with a simple message: “To my friend,” recorded in the artist’s own voice. This intimate dedication sets the tone for the entire 21-minute film, which unfolds through archival footages, news reports, and social media excerpts from a recent past that is as turbulent as it is thought-provoking – raising questions about how we behave and, above all, how we act in the face of impending, widespread violence.
The documentary serves as a kind of testimony. At the height of the pandemic, numerous sociopolitical tensions were unleashed, and class and racial inequalities became starkly visible. Amid the crisis, the Black Lives Matter movement erupted, and Hao incorporated archival footage of demonstrations in the United States in the work. The teachings, conflicts, and points of consensus of the movement are presented and shared empathetically with the audience. These images are interwoven with a recording of Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln performing the song “Tears for Johannesburg,” as well as Nina Simone’s famous statement that “an artist’s duty is to reflect the times” – two different articulations of the pursuit of freedom and fraternity.
The work was created during an artist residency that Hao undertook in Berlin during the first year of the covid-19 pandemic. I understand thus emerged as a direct outcome of her experience as a Chinese artist facing intense racial discrimination from the West toward Chinese citizens. Hao found solidarity by joining a movement that spoke out against segregation and racial discrimination. I understand resonates with various other projects of collaboration and solidarity that emerged between Black and Asian artists during critical historical moments of the 20th century.
