Scattering Journey
archival inkjet print, 2018
This series of four scanned images captures the surface of an iPad I found in the library. The act of scanning its screen reveals traces of touch—fingerprints accumulated through use—marking the quiet circulation of human presence on a digital surface. In contrast to the invisible data trails we leave within virtual space, these images disclose the tangible residue of our interactions.
By turning the device outward, from its screen to its skin, the work performs a reversal: a return from the digital to the physical, from the coded to the perceptible. The scan becomes both an imprint and a reflection, suggesting that even within the most virtual architectures, the body persists as evidence of existence.
Stress Test,
fabric, custom electronics, motors, 2022
Formally inspired by both newspaper production lines and gym equipment, a belt of elastic fabric is constantly being pushed and pulled by forces from various angles, emitting a strong sense of tension and anxiety. A closer look would reveal glitchy vocabularies of emotions printed all over the fabric, which points to how daily information overload from news and social media nowadays keeps some people on an emotional roller coaster and even challenges their mental well-being. The artist’s determination to live with the inherent instability of the structure itself parallels her wish that those in adversity gain resilience through stress tests in life.
Commissioned by Tai Kwun Contemporary / Curator: Erin Li / Fabricator: Tung Wing Hong
I am fine, I am good, I am happy,
printer, paper, custom electronics, 2017
The work “I am fine, I am good, I am happy.” is a metaphorical kinetic work that performs a loop of self-statement. The text was pre-printed and the paper was put in a normal printer but the paper will go back again. The whole cycle keeps moving but the printer does not function normally that it plays as a role to roll the paper in and out.
The statement can be read literally but because it is computer font, it does not tell the true emotion behind. The whole work acts as an audio recorder inside our souls. We try telling ourselves to be happy and telling others we are happy. We deceive ourselves until it no longer means anything. While the printer keeps rolling the paper, when time goes by, the paper starts deteriorating after going through the mechanisms again and again. The work also reflects on the difficulty of reading our true emotion under the technology era. We text, we type, but it is hard to tell the true emotions without truly having a face-to-face contact and verbal communication.
Dependence,
Metal, light bulb, cable, 2016 - 2024
Two light bulbs facing side-by-side at the corner of the wall. One has no electricity cable to connect the power and the other has connected to power. The one with electricity brightens up another one. It is a symbol of a relationship that one of them has to rely on another to stay alive.
“Conduction, as in the movement of particles through a medium of transmission in electrical conduction, or the transfer of thermal energy through physical proximity
in the conduction of heat, is a particular metaphor for various forms of engagement, togetherness and intimacy.” - Caoimhiń Mac Giolla
Since We Last Met,
found object, motor, wood, 2019
Two cups and toothbrushes placed next to each other with a little distance. One does not move, and the other one rotates automatically. When the toothbrush moves closer to the other toothbrush, they meet and the bristle of both toothbrushes causes a friction that slows down the movement. The lingering moment is a symbol of the interaction of two people in a relationship. They intimate, they struggle, they conflict, and they separate until they meet again.create tension and relations. Given the personal and intimate objects, the work embodies the tension that comes from the artist and her past lover.
Commissioned by Things That Can Happen / Curator: Chantel Wong, Lee Kit