Sensual City Studio

HOROSCOPE

Tell me which animal you are and I will tell you what kind of person you might be.
Being a pig has been proven to open Chinese doors. Whenever I mention my horoscope sign, it always elicits one of two reactions:
– Ohhh, good!
– Mmm, you are lucky!

ANCESTORS 2

Investing in a coffin is what many work their whole lives for. Some acquire it very early on; owing to its size, it tends to become part of the furniture, in some cases being used as a shelf, a bed, a table, or an armoire. It is typically painted and decorated, always ready to serve.
There are still some cemeteries, as in ancient Chinese times, where there are “tomb guards” – guardians who are paid to accompany the ancestor to his or her eternal bodily home. These are real human beings, in flesh and blood, who will talk to the ancestor, regale him or her with stories of those left behind, and, of course, eat with the ancestor, for whom a fresh bowl of rice is always provided, but with just one chopstick placed on top, as the other chopstick is in the world of the afterlife, with the ancestor.
The importance of this coffin, this house, is of indisputable importance for Chinese ancestors, as it is their perpetual home, as well as for their relatives, so that they are able to uphold the values of filial piety, passed on from generation to generation.

FEELING SPECIAL 1

Shanghai is different. Shanghai is different from what we are used to, and is always surprising. It’s a city where many have found their home – and for those who haven’t, it is, at the very least, a place that changes their way of how space is perceived and used.
My dad had finally arrived in Shanghai; it would be the first time he saw the city I had fallen in love with. For someone who had travelled for so long (24 hours), he seemed quite fresh; everything was new and an opportunity to take a picture and make a video. He knew he would remember most events; nevertheless, he wanted to keep a record of the moments, figures, colours, textures – everything – in a form that could be printed in order to make recollection easier, as proof that Shanghai exists, that it’s real.
My dad became a real actor, a player on the stage that is the city, where everyone is an actor, albeit with an undefined role. Lots of people would look at him, change places on the bus or the train in order to sit closer to him, and stare at him. In a cemetery, a man even asked him to take a picture with him in front of his grandfather’s grave. He does not look that much different from any other tourist, or any other Shanghainese person, for that matter. He is not blond, tall or blue-eyed. But he has a white mane of hair, eyes that glow with curiosity, and a big smile. It seemed that this was the passport that granted him access to all the doors he encountered. He would be better understood in the grocery store than I would, and without even opening his mouth.

GESTURES

Every culture has its own gestures. Indians constantly move their heads while talking. Similarly, Japanese use their heads to indicate that they have understood the subject.   As for Italians, they have a whole array of hand gestures that form a sort of language of their own. Shanghainese, on the other hand, don’t have all that many gestures, probably because of the embedded notion of yin   and yang   within Chinese culture and, consequently, their conception of healthiness. No one should be too happy or too sad. Equilibrium shall always prevail.
Nonetheless, when there is a crowd of Shanghainese watching a group of people playing mah-jong or carrom or any other table game, they will cross their arms, and some will smoke a cigarette without even touching it, as they do when they ride a bike, take a break at work or have a meal in a restaurant. What’s more, they will often do this while adopting the “crouching-on-heels position”. Since the very beginning of time, it has been shown that this is the best posture for the human body; however, in the West, most of us can’t really do this anymore, or at least not if we have to put our heels on the ground. But the Chinese can, and do, all the time, and hold this position for a very long time – while working, eating, waiting for public transport, going to the toilet, or simply talking to each other in the park or in the street.

FEELING SPECIAL 2

I told my dad that he had better rest, so that we could go to the park at around 7 p.m. He didn’t know why I was so excited about showing him a park at that time of day. But he soon noticed me looking outside my window and taking pictures.
He joined me. He saw the sudden transformation of the very same street we had been walking along just few hours earlier.
The street corner, the footpath, the whole lilong was all lit up. I recall him saying that this was the “Cinderella time” of day. Seemingly out of the blue, there were four times as many people walking around as there were earlier that very same day. People were selling glowing objects, clothing, phones… every imaginable – and unimaginable – item.
The footpaths were full of people, looking for their favourite food stand. Everyone in the towers would come down into the street, into the lilong or to the park nearby, and the residents of the lilongs would come out on to the street and walk to the park.
My dad opened the door and asked me, “What are we waiting for?”

A SHANGHAINESE DAY 2

I imagine what my life would have been like if I had been a native Shanghainese grandmother…  Like the others of my generation, we would all speak the same dialect, and take full advantage of our home, Shanghai. I get up at around 4.30 a.m., and meet known and unknown friends in order to exercise: tai chi fan, tai chi, dancing or a martial art. I could go to the park, to the street corner where the lilong and the high-rise compound meet, or to the deserted pedestrian promenade. An hour later, I tidy up my house, carefully say my prayers to my ancestors, with the help of incense that cleanses both the air and the energies in the house. Breakfast should be salty, as we lose lots of water at night. I wake up the only son of my only son, and help him to get ready for school. I go to the market and prepare lunch; and then I sit and talk to my neighbours about the latest news in the lilong – who has moved in, who has moved out, who has got married and who has died. After lunch, I’d better take a nap.