Milk Debt (2019)
In the summer of 2018, I was overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety in relation to climate change and the current state of affairs in the United States. I decided to make a list of everything I was afraid of at that moment. It was a relief to know that some of my fears were irrational, but it was equally scary to know that consequential things were out of my control.
Since February 2019, I’ve been working on “Milk Debt,” a multipart video project featuring women pumping breast milk while reciting lists of fears. So far, I’ve collected fears from women in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. As the project continues, I hope to work in other places, including near the United States border with Mexico.
The project’s title refers to the idea in Chinese Buddhism that children are forever indebted to their mothers for their milk. Breast milk is created when the body starts to produce the hormones oxytocin and prolactin. Oxytocin is also produced when one is in love. Milk debt is an arrangement that binds us to our history and to the earth. It is an unpayable debt.
These are three video stills from a portion of “Milk Debt” that was filmed in Hong Kong on June 9. On that day, close to a million residents peacefully marched to protest the government’s Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, which would have made extradition to China legal. The performance acts as a ritual in which the performer channels the fears of others into public speech, in turn transforming them from the individual into the communal.
At a time when people are distressed by climate change, governmental policies and a lack of resources, it is vital to connect with others, be inclusive and compassionate, and find ways of making meaning in our world.
Patty Chang is an artist working in performance, video, writing and installation. She lives in Los Angeles.
(Reposted and Excerpt from The New York Times 'The Year 2019, as Seen by Five Artists’ Patty Chang as one of the interviewed artist, Edited from the original, Copyright ©The New York Times)
