As a derivative body of work stemming from th Golden Grains Rush art project, beginning in June 2025, artist Yang Yexin created a series of oil paintings based on various postures assumed by “gold rice seekers.” In these compositions, figures bend toward the ground, fully absorbed in the act of retrieving grains of gold rice. When the singular pursuit of wealth becomes an explicit social value and is further reinforced through institutional incentives, the deeper needs of individuals and the space for free will may be quietly displaced. The striking uniformity of bodily gestures depicted in the paintings subtly mirrors the invisible disciplining mechanisms of power structures and the formation of collective unconsciousness.
