JUNHAO WU

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McAmen 2021-Present

Is Life Just About Eating McDonald’s in Different Places?  (Update Oct 2025)


Well, where do I start here?

Maybe, let me introduce this project briefly first of all?

In the past four years, I’ve visited more than 150 McDonald’s across Eurasia (mainly in the UK and China) and eaten over 350 Filet-O-Fish (Yeah, I only eat Filet-O-Fish, maybe it can barely be considered an Endurance Art). Every time before I eat a Filet-O-Fish, I always take a photo of the Filet-O-Fish bun from a fixed top-down angle and upload it to the Chinese social platform Rednote (Xiaohongshu). Because of this “nonsense act of persistence”, I got a bit of attention on Chinese social media, perhaps it has changed my life, or perhaps not.

Ok, let me introduce more about the project. Four years ago, most parts of the world were still under pandemic restrictions. I was studying Contemporary Photography; Practices and Philosophies at Central Saint Martins in London. Because I long to return to the so-called "normal life", I thought that the day I could walk in a McDonald’s freely might be the beginning of returning to "normal life”... 

In the summer of 2021, as England began a phased exit from lockdown, I stepped into the McDonald’s at King’s Cross in London, and ordered a Filet-O-Fish by chance. I was struck by the smooth of the Filet-O-Fish bun and took a photo, unaware that it would be the start of the project.

So, why the Filet-O-Fish? Maybe for a young guy from a small town in China, who had just arrived in London to study during the pandemic, the fish&chips and the smooth buns ( I’m not talking about the sleek and masculine bald heads…) perfectly matched most people’s (or my) stereotypes of Britain. Furthermore, the Filet-O-Fish was a great value for money product of McDonald’s, it fit my saver-student lifestyle, it covered my daily nutritional needs, and it didn’t taste bad at all. Even now, I still think Filet-O-Fish tasted good every time I eat it.

And why the McDonald’s? It’s definitions of standardisation, modernisation, and globalisation are as well-known as the McDonald’s brand itself. For children who grew up during China’s period of economic growth, McDonald’s formed part of a happy childhood memory, Ronald McDonald, Happy Meals, and the toys that came with them.

 For children born and raised during China's economic growth period, McDonald's is part of their fond childhood memories: Ronald McDonald, the Happy Meal toys, and the precious family time.

I still remember that when I was in primary school, my mom once brought back a McDonald’s meal from the provincial capital by train. Even the food was stone cold, it was still an unique experience I could show off to schoolmates the next day. As a child, of course, I didn't know why that counted as a bragging rights. Maybe I get the answer now: we don't really desire the experience of eating McDonald’s or the burgers themselves, but we desire what others desire (which can be shaped by public media).
When I grew older, I dreamed of leaving my hometown, hoping that one day I can live in a city and eat McDonald's every day.

This imagination also seems to have influenced my choices as an adult, though I never seriously imagined I'd actually have the chance to live in London one day. After all, before people actually live in London, all their fantasies are nothing but idealised fantasies. And these fantasies, including my own fantasy of a so called better life, also included the fantasy of “eating McDonald's every day.”
It wasn’t until later that I finally realised eating a McDonald's meal in a capital city and having a bowl of stir-fried noodles in my hometown are actually the same ordinary life experience. So, what exactly was the "better life" that I was constantly chasing?

Amid the turbulent life in London, I desperately needed an anchor point to steady my world. The barrage of information and culture shocks, the annoyances and challenges I faced everyday just tore me apart… 
I began frequenting the McDonald's at King’s Cross, and each time I sat by the window eating Filet-O-Fish,  watching the hurried comings and goings of King’s Cross Square brought me comfort. This McDonald’s became a harbour for my everyday emotions. And Every time I opened the box of Filet-O-Fish and saw the smooth or damaged buns, it felt like the line from Forrest Gump: “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.”

As I kept updating more Filet-O-Fish photos and related content to the Rednone, my influence on the Chinese social media grew accordingly.
Firstly, many Rednote users discovered that photos of "perfect" and "smooth" buns could fit the algorithm and bring more views&likes to the account. People all like the smooth bun, out of curiosity they were more likely to click on such posts. Moreover, some users began associating the smoothness of a bun's surface with the smoothness of their day, akin to divination. These “smooth buns” images can bring significantly more views and likes to their social media account; some user even started using the portrait-style skin-smoothing filters to edit their bun photos. A single “airbrushed” bun image could attract hundreds of thousands of views (fine, that’s so contemporary art), yet it also seemed to run counter to my original idea that “whether perfect or imperfect, it deserves acceptance”.

Secondly, after the pandemic, with the global economy sliding into recession, many young people living in cities and just entering society (the real jungle) were forced into a “saver” lifestyle. My own insistence on eating Filet-O-Fish resonated with this widespread condition among the young generation, while also consciously or unconsciously resonating with the then-current McDonald's ‘McAmen’ or ‘McWorship’ marketing trend in China. Initially, I considered it as a joke, such like a viral meme akin to the “Pastafarianism.” To be honest, I felt a bit weird when McDonald's China started to follow this trend. I disliked this kind of officially orchestrated, quasi-religious marketing campaign. So much so that in early 2024, when I was offered a position in the public relations department at McDonald's China headquarters, I declined after careful consideration. If I accepted the offer, I might not be writing these seemingly plausible reflections now, and I would be on McDonald's side.

I also deeply realise a truth that I am just a person leveraging social platforms ("platform" in the context of contemporary photography can also be understood as a "device for photography"), borrowing the global influence of McDonald’s to unfold a more personal mode of observation and storytelling.

This project has been going on for four years now, and my life has changed a lot or maybe not. I still live in London, occasionally eating a Filet-O-Fish, basking in the sun, weathering the storms… I've also visited as many places as I can reach, persevering with the nonsense act "eating Filet-O-Fish at different McDonald's around the world." There are still many distant places I want to visit. Back in my hometown, there are now two McDonald’s (there used to be three, but one closed during the pandemic, which is a rare situation, that’s a good point to prove some ideological differences in there. This is really a big topic maybe we can talk next time). 

Many people have asked me how this project will end, like stopping a painting or concluding a novel. I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe it's when I receive the offer from McDonald's? Maybe it's when I eat 500 Filet-O-Fish? Maybe it's when I enter the next phase of my life and the project comes to an abrupt end? Or maybe it's when I complete the McDonald's Worldwide check-in achievement? ... Or maybe there's no answer at all. It won't stop, but will gradually become part of my daily life. McDonald's will still be McDonald's, the Filet-O-Fish will still be the Filet-O-Fish, and I will still be myself, maybe this is the life I choose.




If you would like to support me in continuing this project:

Rednote homepage: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/5b69a1356830ea00019f5405

Support my nonsense act of persistence: https://gofund.me/eb803ce7

An Interview Report : https://ourculturemag.com/2024/09/08/junhao-wu-just-what-is-it-that-makes-todays-homies-so-different-so-appealing/

Booooooom Art Report: https://www.booooooom.com/2025/09/26/mcamen-by-artist-junhao-wu/

©JUNHAOWU 2018-2026

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