I’m Awake Tonight is inspired by a YouTube video of a North American hunting association, that shows the hunt during the firing of the final shot. With the hunters’ guns locked on the animals, the creatures stare right back into the barrel, confused and horrified, unable to escape, and dying only seconds later. Under the video, netizens comment, “The most dangerous animal in the world. ‘YOU’.” Looking back at these horrifying, almost “carnivalesque” killing sequences, hunting—one of the most ancient, essential activities in the history of humankind—seems to have evolved into an exclusive pursuit for pleasure and absolute power.
Chen’s work juxtaposes this hunting video with another: he recorded the audio of the act of embossing negative words on a sheet of copper and amplified the hammering sound to echo gunshots of a hunt. On the screen, flashes of huge eyes accompany the sound, staring directly at the audience. Their gazes are inescapable, and transport the subject’s fears into the exhibition space.