Objects
Fairy tale books: Fairy tale books have given me a wonderful imagination of my childhood. They sparked my interest in reading and laid the foundation for my personal work today.
Glass marbles: I used to play glass marbles with my classmates when I was little. The winner would get someone else’s glass marbles, so I had a lot of nice marbles. This is a fond memory of my childhood.
Origami: I can’t forget the craft lessons my teacher taught us when I was a child about origami. I have retained my interest in origami to this day. I still fold paper from time to time to relax myself. It has been a great exercise for my patience and my hands-on skills.
Snacks: Snacks are one of my most memorable memories from my childhood. When school was over, my friends and I would always go to the kiosk next to the school to buy snacks and share them. I still remember the summer when we bought spicy dried fish and ate it with ice cubes, a really happy memory.
When I was a child, my school and parents banned me from buying snacks as they said it was not healthy, thus causing snacks to be absent from my childhood. When I grew up and had some financial ability, I used to compensate myself by overeating.
I took my MP3 to listen to novels when I was a kid, but then my parents broke them because of this because of a misunderstanding. So now I don’t let any personal belongings leave my body and am wary of anyone who comes near my personal belongings. It also made me a little resistant to the ‘right thing’ that my parents asked me to do at the time (it was because I didn’t do it right away that gave them a reason to break my personal belongings).
When I was a child practicing piano, my mother thought I was too playful to practice properly and smashed my metronome in a fit of rage. Although I cried and fixed it later, I never used that metronome again, and I never wanted to play the piano again. Even though I really loved music, looking at the piano at home and the metronome on it that I had fixed gave me a pang of revulsion. Even when I suddenly and desperately wanted to play the piano, I would wait until everyone in the family was out and turn it on secretly.
As a child I lived in a town where smelting was the main focus and the primary school was built on the site of an old mine, with some rough chunks of ore dug up behind the school. So much so that I grew up enjoying digging and exploring, fostering my exuberant appetite for exploration and knowledge of all things. It also contributed to my love of museums later in life.
The teddy bear my parents gave me was my favourite childhood playmate. It was so cute and soft that I used to sleep with it. I later developed this habit and still sleep with a doll now. I developed a related interest and have continued to collect favourite plush dolls as I grew up.
My grandmother had an old-fashioned foot-powered sewing machine at home. Whenever I visit, I love to watch my grandmother sitting in front of the sewing machine sewing. What could be cooler than going to school in clothes made by my family. This fostered my interest in handicrafts. I now also make some simple clothes myself.
As a child I used to play with these snowflake shaped blocks. There was no set process for these toys, so I could play with them exactly as I imagined and liked, putting together whatever I liked. It was a good exercise for my imagination and practical skills, and taught me not to stick to the established rules.
When I was a kid, I used to write cards to my best friends at Christmas, I miss the days when I used to express my wishes in writing. I don’t seem to get many handwritten cards nowadays. I hope all the friends who used to send cards to each other are still happy!
This is a long life lock issued by the hospital when I was first born. My dad always lied to me that it was a custom-made birth gift from him for me, but when I was growing up I realised it was from the hospital. On the front is the year, month, day, minute and weight of birth, and on the back is my Chinese zodiac sign. There is also a little angel glued to the box. There is no more for children born now.
I used to play checkers with my mum when I was a kid and I could never beat my mum so I was sad. It’s a great puzzle game though. Unfortunately my family lost our checkers when we moved house. But I will buy a new set sometime in the future and play with my family again.
Artworks
Gift
The work Gift captures the model’s scars from a childhood car accident, reflecting through them how painful experiences affect people and how they slowly come to terms with and reconcile the painful memories.
A colourful dream
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Uc411W7fc/?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
Memories of the school building
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Vm4y1r78y/?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
Both video works are vehicles that carry the author’s nostalgia for childhood, containing elements of liminal space and the expression of a dream core. It is a revival of childhood life that can be linked to people’s past or memories, creating a sense of familiarity and focusing on personal emotions and unique imaginary memories.
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