A Warm Cavity Is a Rotting Bone reflects my ongoing concern with the contradictions and peculiarities of searching for culture in space. It examines how culture is compartmentalized and purposefully carried into space by a rotating cast of astronauts. Which compartments of culture are determined by logistical economies and habitable space, and how much emerges organically from an independent ecosystem of space-born significations? A plaster cast of a roast goose is a representation of the Flying Goose: a phenomenon in which diaspora Chinese take an elaborately packaged roast goose with them as carry-on when departing Hong Kong. Supposedly, the packaging insulates heat so incredibly well that its flesh is still warm on touchdown in Vancouver, thereby extending the texture and flavor of an authentic roast and negating the need for reheating.
The cultural influence of logistics and economies begs the question: how much of this is meaning and how much is circumstance? These questions forge a metaphor between thermal sciences and my own entangled feelings about cultural preservation and authenticity.
The materials in this exhibition oscillate between the natural and the synthetic, and gestures deliberately shift between precision and imperfection, between signifiers familiar to Hong Kong and those imagined for outer space. Yet a quandary persists: is this loss? Is there anything to lose? Or is loss itself a form of energy dissipation and dissemination?
Carry-on, 2024
Plaster, thermochromic pigment, stainless steel, heating element, wood
Dimensions variable
Carry-on references the contemporary cultural phenomenon known as "Flying Roast Goose," in which members of the Chinese diaspora departing from Hong Kong would purchase takeout roast goose on their way to the airport. Designed to retain heat exceptionally well, the packaging fueled a popular belief that one could arrive home in Vancouver with a goose still warm. This practice reflects a phenomenon of Chinese food culture, where reheating is often considered undesirable. The meticulous engineering behind preserving cultural authenticity through a roast goose reveals a dynamic that is both profoundly meaningful and subtly absurd. However, this tradition has significantly declined in recent years due to increasing restrictions on carrying food across borders.
Tonic, 2024
Glass vase, automobile coolant, Tang, white chrysanthemums, true East and West placement
Tonic examines the dichotomous relationship between humans and technology, questioning whether technology is merely an extension of the human. Tang, a sugary orange-flavored drink introduced for astronauts in the 1960s, remains a staple in American grocery stores. Here, it is juxtaposed with automobile coolant, which serves a similar function—regulating and sustaining systems, whether biological or mechanical. Chrysanthemums, symbolizing purity and longevity, are placed in concoctions that should be toxic, yet paradoxically extend the freshness of the cut flowers through different means. The interplay between “true East” and “true West” amplifies these material contradictions, reflecting the artist’s own upbringing and the tensions between cultural identity, technological progress, and preservation.
Spaced, 2024
Printed paper, freezer door
80 × 60 × 35 cm
Spaced is a participatory poster stack inviting visitors to take a sheet. The poster presents a chronological listing of every nonhuman sent into space, including names when applicable. While each entry carries its own narrative weight, the dataset as a whole reveals a story that is both absurd and calculated.
Entropy Comes Easy, 2024
Piece of space-flown thermal blanket from the space shuttle Endeavor, information card with adhesive, frame, thermal blankets
One large handful of confetti for every 2 square feet of exhibition space
A card of authenticity, accompanied by a small fragment of thermal blanket, was purchased from eBay’s Space Flown subsection. The thermal blanket piece was then peeled from the card and mixed into a pile of similarly sized fragments and scattered across the gallery floor like confetti from a celebration.