john was kept up all night by a mosquito, 44 bites, all on his face
john awoke to find that someone had stolen all of his hay in the middle of the night that he had saved up to sell at the market
john went to make some tea, but alas! there is no firewood
john walks outside to start his day, looks back, and realises that his house looks quite in disrepair
john finds out that his dog has died in the middle of the night, it was very old
john goes to bury his dead dog under his favourite tree and finds that it has fallen in the middle of the night and spilled its spiky poisonous leaves everywhere, john will have to sweep this up
john stubs his toe on a rock
john is walking back towards his house when a random man comes and bonks him on the head with a staff, john does not know who the man is
john goes fishing in the river and catches no fish
the snow leaves the mountain early this year
the bridge has collapsed from the strong current of the early mountain snow melt
the chickens have escaped their chicken coop, or perhaps a fox got them
none of the eggs from the escaped chickens hatched this season, at least john will have some eggs for breakfast tomorrow
Installation view, Jason Phu, the really bad day john had, presented at Gertrude Glasshouse, 2022. Photo: Christian Capurro
john had to sell his favourite chair, it had extra comfy arm rests
john tills the dry barren field
a pair of birds sitting in a tree shit on john, ruining his nice shirt
the wind is too harsh, not great for john’s eczema
the wind drops as soon as john gets in his boat
john watches the riverbanks flood from his boat
a crab pinches john’s toes, it scurries off his boat into the water with a “plop!”
john visits a priestess for advice, but she has entered an indefinite vow of silence since yesterday
news of the war comes, john is worried about being conscripted
john is dyslexic, but flips through a few dusty books he owns to the pictures of animals
john cannot play any music, but blows into a broken bamboo flute futilely
john is bored
Installation view, Jason Phu, the really bad day john had, presented at Gertrude Glasshouse, 2022. Photo: Christian Capurro
john shifts three pieces of heavy stone together to make an ugly, rickety, uncomfortable table
john accidentally breaks his favourite vase
john manages to make some tea but it is too hot and he burns his tongue
john finds a dead goose in his well, a bad sign
john forgot to water his plant and it has withered
john ponders about romance
john watches in the distance as a great fire consumes the local forest
there are some clouds, but no rain
the local townspeople demand john’s favourite goat to slaughter as sacrifice, john unwittingly agrees
a giant rain comes and john gets soaked on the way home from the sacrifice
john chews on a large pepper he has in his pocket, but it is too hot and gives him stomach aches and firey poos
john sees some people gambling in an alleyway, john loses a large sum of his money
john finds an orange on the road unattended and takes a bite but it is too sour to eat
a flock of birds fly past and they all shit on john
john receives his exam results, they are not enough to keep him from being conscripted into the army
john’s medicine gourd is dry
john receives news from a neighbour his friend has died in the war fighting in the local magistrate’s army
john dreams about sex
john is awoken by the grasshoppers eating his crops and kept awake by the cicadas and frogs, haunted by the nocturnal hoot of the owls
Installation view, Jason Phu, the really bad day john had, presented at Gertrude Glasshouse, 2022. Photo: Christian Capurro
Installation view, Jason Phu, the really bad day john had, presented at Gertrude Glasshouse, 2022. Photo: Christian Capurro
