/hōm/
笔顺：点点横沟横撇弯钩撇撇撇捺
Received postcards
Artist statement
/hōm/ 笔顺：点点横沟横撇弯钩撇撇撇捺
I have always had something in mind that includes the mailing process. As I started look into it, I found the 1970-80s mail art, where art was distributed through mail. Through this process, there would be more time consumed, and there would be unintentional marks left on the artwork. This interested me, it was just calling me. So I decided to do something with postcards.
Thinking about the word ‘site’, I don’t think there is a place in Toronto that interested me enough to make a work on it. The place that I love the most in Toronto would be my home, a rented place in Toronto, where I would be able to be found most of the time. For me, home is where I live at the time. Therefore it didn’t matter if this place was rented. Home for me refers to a place that I spent my time making memories. Of course, where my family is would also be my home. Home would be a specific address, rather than just single words like Beijing, Chilliwack, or Toronto. Although that is just me, I was curious what people would consider as their ‘home’.
This artwork would be an interactive work, where I have sent out invitations to friends of mine, asking for their addresses so that I can mail these postcards I made to them. I sent out 19 invitations, but only received 16 addresses. And I do not expect all of the 16 of them to get back to me on time, as there are some coming back from BC and the US. But during the process I found out that sending between Downtown Toronto were even slower than sending to BC. So I began to worry about getting enough of them to present. I did not provide any instructions on the invitation, the instructions is only available on the postcards, and would be available for those recipients who received and accepted the invitation. There were two designs for the postcards, where one would be in Chinese, one would be in English. The backgrounds of the designs were photographs done by me. Chinese version had a photo from the Forbidden City of Beijing. Red has been a symbol of China and Chinese. English version had a photo that was in peacock green. It was a part of my grandpa’s lamp he used when he was alive. I wanted to use something that had the juxtaposition in colours and contents. The recipients were allowed to choose the design they preferred. The recipients were allowed to write their answer in any language or languages they prefer to use.
As for display of the artwork, it would also be interactive. There will be limited extra copies of the postcards available at the critique, where the viewers are able to participate. I would try and make the artwork as much like “home” as possible. I will be bringing a short table from my home, and will be arranging this table available for display of the postcards I received, as well as a space for writing the blank copies. Although the participants will have to mail those postcards to me to complete this artwork.
APR 1, 2019
yuminghee