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My Alleyway Memories (Once Upon A Longtang)

National Art Gallery (Balai Seni Negara), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Photos by Aaron Wong & David Yeow

2023

Life in a longtang compound is noisy, messy, and intimate. On a typical morning, you would see locals gathered in these cramped alleys, chattering and gossiping about their children or grandchildren, while vendors are seen selling vegetables or second-hand items on mats. In the afternoons, residents can be seen cooking, hand-washing laundry, or playing mahjong with their neighbors. Lots of laundries would be hung off bamboo poles overhead. Life there felt like an almost village-like neighborhood. I loved it.

 

Longtangs are quickly disappearing in the face of modernity. This installation attempts to recreate my memories of living there while addressing impermanence, tradition, and urbanization. I have used old clothing, bamboo poles and red calligraphy paper as my main materials. Laundry is a sign of life, an indication of the type of residence that lives in these spaces. These old clothes allude to residences which may often be overlooked in the drive towards urban development. 

The eight artworks on display were created with burnt red calligraphy paper, a material I began using this year. I referenced actual photos that I took while living in Shanghai to tell stories of people and places that are important to me. I hope that through these artworks, visitors will get to experience a glimpse of relationships that are the most intimate and important to me, and the complex longing and confusion I still feel today while reflecting on what led my family to migrate to Malaysia right at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

弄堂里的生活是嘈杂的,凌乱的,私密的。在一个一如往常的早晨,当地人会聚集在这狭窄的巷里,喋喋不休地谈论着他们的小孩或孙子们,而一旁的小贩则在垫子上摊卖着蔬菜和一些二手货品。下午时分,弄堂将变成居民们烧饭、洗涤衣物或打麻将的好地方。抬头一望,便是一段段挂满衣物的竹竿。那里的生活仿佛一个村庄似的社区。

面对城市更新,弄堂正在迅速地消失。这座艺术装置的诞生是为了重建我在弄堂里度过的时光,同时反映了生活无常的景象并强调传统与都市化的问题。我利用旧衣物、竹竿子和大红宣纸作为主要材料。衣物即象征着生命也代表着当地居民的身份。装置中的旧衣物也含义着那些在都市发展中往往被忽视的民生。

展出的八件艺术品运用了燃烧红纸的技术来作画,是一个我今年开始使用的材料。我参考了我在上海生活时所拍下的照片来讲述对我重要的人与地方。我希望透过这组画作,观赏者能够感受到这些对我极其密切和珍重的关系,以及我至今仍感到错综复杂的思念与困惑,同时也反思是什么原因导致我家人在文化大革命初期移民到马来西亚。

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