Interview
What artwork are we here to talk about?
We are talking about this apartment we are sitting in right now. This is the artwork. It's a mix media of a durational performance and a site-specific sculpture. For the past year, I've been working and living in this studio apartment on Capitol Hill here in Seattle. And now the performance is over, what's left here is the sculpture.
We are talking about this apartment we are sitting in right now. This is the artwork. It's a mix media of a durational performance and a site-specific sculpture. For the past year, I've been working and living in this studio apartment on Capitol Hill here in Seattle. And now the performance is over, what's left here is the sculpture.
What's the materiality of this artwork?
For this piece, I chose a very minimalist approach to materials, quite different from the piece I made in LA in 2020. Here, I wanted to delve into the question of how material creates meaning. Is meaning solely born from material interactions, or can it exist beyond materiality? My experiment was to see if I could generate meaning with minimal material, or even by removing material entirely.
I primarily used cardboard boxes. I felt it was important to use materials representative of the city I live in. Cardboard is definitely one material that signifies Seattle, particularly with the presence of the largest logistics company in the US. Another is blue tape; I've noticed it everywhere here.
Something I found interesting in cognitive psychology is the idea that we form memories by creating meanings. Artists, and sculptors in particular, often use materials as a vehicle for this meaning-making process. So, there's a clear link between materials and memory. Certain materials, for example, hold deep cultural significance, representing a collective memory across generations. That connection is truly fascinating to me.
How does one experience the artwork?
I want my audience to arrive in this apartment and immediately question what they are looking at, because it looks so different from a normal living space, and it doesn't look like an art gallery either. Then they will find evidence to piece a story together on their own. I intentionally put a lot of evidence-like items around my place. Like photos on the fridge, because people might start wondering which one is me in the photo and how are the other people related to me. But I actually got these photos from a thrift shop, and they are photos of strangers. Though they aren't totally strangers to me now, because I picked them out and arranged them on the fridge. So, I'm seeking to create an experience for the audience where moments of clarity are quickly followed by moments of doubt; it's an oscillation between 'knowing' and 'questioning'.
I want my audience to arrive in this apartment and immediately question what they are looking at, because it looks so different from a normal living space, and it doesn't look like an art gallery either. Then they will find evidence to piece a story together on their own. I intentionally put a lot of evidence-like items around my place. Like photos on the fridge, because people might start wondering which one is me in the photo and how are the other people related to me. But I actually got these photos from a thrift shop, and they are photos of strangers. Though they aren't totally strangers to me now, because I picked them out and arranged them on the fridge. So, I'm seeking to create an experience for the audience where moments of clarity are quickly followed by moments of doubt; it's an oscillation between 'knowing' and 'questioning'.
Why is it important that we document its existence. Because it is in a private space. It's not public. It's temporary. So why is it important that we document?
With the first piece of this series, I didn't do documentation. Or I would say I documented it as it was a photography work. When I was making that piece, I had the focus on myself, and the work wasn't intended for public display. With this piece, I decided to document it as it's a performance work and a sculpture work. There's been a shift in my practice towards exploring how my work engages with the world around me. I want to allow the interaction between the audience and the work, and I want to show it.
With the first piece of this series, I didn't do documentation. Or I would say I documented it as it was a photography work. When I was making that piece, I had the focus on myself, and the work wasn't intended for public display. With this piece, I decided to document it as it's a performance work and a sculpture work. There's been a shift in my practice towards exploring how my work engages with the world around me. I want to allow the interaction between the audience and the work, and I want to show it.
What ways have you documented this art?
Well, this interview is one way I'm documenting the piece. It's interesting to think about documenting art with something so abstract. Other than that, I also took some photos, which I think I will end up using. There is also another way I'm thinking about, which is making a drawing of the apartment from my memory after I move out. I have done this with one of the places I lived, but it depends on how I feel about my memory of living here.
Well, this interview is one way I'm documenting the piece. It's interesting to think about documenting art with something so abstract. Other than that, I also took some photos, which I think I will end up using. There is also another way I'm thinking about, which is making a drawing of the apartment from my memory after I move out. I have done this with one of the places I lived, but it depends on how I feel about my memory of living here.
Who is this artwork for?
For most of the time I lived and worked here, I really made this just for myself. Maybe also for the cat who I was cat-sitting, because cats love cardboard boxes! They don't look for meaning in them, they just have a lot of fun. :) I had a private open studio a couple of weeks ago, I would say people enjoyed the most were people who are curious and have a playful mind. My work definitely contains a lot of absurdist playfulness. Or perhaps people who are seriously asking the same questions about art-making that I am.
For most of the time I lived and worked here, I really made this just for myself. Maybe also for the cat who I was cat-sitting, because cats love cardboard boxes! They don't look for meaning in them, they just have a lot of fun. :) I had a private open studio a couple of weeks ago, I would say people enjoyed the most were people who are curious and have a playful mind. My work definitely contains a lot of absurdist playfulness. Or perhaps people who are seriously asking the same questions about art-making that I am.
What is your conceptual motivation?
I guess coming out of art education that primarily focused on Western-centric modernist conceptual art, I became very angry at conceptual art. I think it's disgustingly narcissistic. But that's also an important part of my art practice, so I have to find a way to engage with it. For this piece, I was particularly interested in exploring: How does an object transform from commodity to art? How does an object transform from functional to meaningful? How does an artist shift from being an artist to a resident? And what is the relationship between the artist's transformation and the objects' transformation?
I guess coming out of art education that primarily focused on Western-centric modernist conceptual art, I became very angry at conceptual art. I think it's disgustingly narcissistic. But that's also an important part of my art practice, so I have to find a way to engage with it. For this piece, I was particularly interested in exploring: How does an object transform from commodity to art? How does an object transform from functional to meaningful? How does an artist shift from being an artist to a resident? And what is the relationship between the artist's transformation and the objects' transformation?
How will this artwork end?
There was a big transformation at the time of month 7, all the boxes and the furniture were completely rearranged again and some of them got destroyed and after that, the changes were smaller and less frequent. That's when I know, okay, this piece is about to end.
There was a big transformation at the time of month 7, all the boxes and the furniture were completely rearranged again and some of them got destroyed and after that, the changes were smaller and less frequent. That's when I know, okay, this piece is about to end.
Will it be remade?
Yes and no. I believe I will continue with the theme of exploring the fundamental question of art but the residency series is done. One because it's really hard to have a work-life balance this way, the other is that I feel like I have found the answer I was looking for.
Yes and no. I believe I will continue with the theme of exploring the fundamental question of art but the residency series is done. One because it's really hard to have a work-life balance this way, the other is that I feel like I have found the answer I was looking for.
If you could go back in time, what might you change about what I have in front of me to experience?
One thing I don't like about me as an artist is my crafting skills, my work focuses too much on the conceptual ideas. If I could go back in time, and let's say I could go back in time as much as I want, I will have a lot more time :), then I would spend more time on the craft and make more intricate art.
One thing I don't like about me as an artist is my crafting skills, my work focuses too much on the conceptual ideas. If I could go back in time, and let's say I could go back in time as much as I want, I will have a lot more time :), then I would spend more time on the craft and make more intricate art.
01. 2023–01.2024
Art Maker in Residence (Seattle) is a year-long durational performance in which the artist lived and worked within their studio apartment located on Capitol Hill, Seattle. Using mundane, omnipresent found objects, the work explores fundamental questions: What distinguishes an object as art versus design? Where is the boundary between art and life? Through subtle rearrangements and simple modifications of these everyday items, the artist investigates the nature of meaning-making itself—how it occurs and whether significance arises solely from material interaction or can exist beyond the physical.