WAI-YI LAI

leaves of words

2011-11-28T17:55:00.006+02:00

"一葉寄語words of leaves"

與其無休止地等待別人給你建造一個「國際級」的藝術空間，

不如用我們的雙手來發掘藝術在生活中的可能性。

這個計劃邀請觀眾在西九的天空下一起進行創作。

每張明信片記錄著創作者當下的心境。

由葉子造成的顏料，更把人與身處的環境緊密地連繫起來。

就讓一片葉子帶領我們到一個不可預知的國度，把藝術的驚喜帶進生活中。

no more waiting for the "world class" art space, let's discover art in everyday life!
this project invites everyone to create some art under the sky of west kowloon.

every postcard is a record of your mind.
the paint formulated by leaves gently bring you and the environment closer.
let the leaves spread your words to the unknown destinations,
and let art surprise us

see you.

more information of the program, please click here.

home: lesson one

2011-11-21T16:44:00.003+02:00

“Home: Lesson One” reveals how the idea of home is being reshaped by the current wave of development in China. The work is a sound clip of a computer synthesized voice pronouncing a text extracted from the Beijing property adverts I collected while I lived there. Listening to these thousands of words, one learns a new concept of the so-called "ideal home" in Beijing – its price, resale value, location, and proximity to schools and transport. How are these new ideas of "home" shaping the future of China? Perhaps this is a compulsory lesson for every generation in the new society in China.

a wish

2011-11-17T18:30:00.006+02:00

let's make a wish together...

placemarks

2011-10-08T17:47:00.006+03:00

exhibition in November: placemarks,
an affiliation program of the conference
"What Environment Do We Want?
Environmental Aesthetics and Its Implications"
organized by Lingnan University Visual Studies
Department in Hong Kong. (more)

looking at the wall

2011-05-09T09:09:00.006+03:00

A wall is built in front us; yet it is not a wall to block us from the nature, rather it is a wall to encourage us to reach the environment we live in new perspective. It has more than thirty people contributed to this project with the leaves they brought into the studio; the time and effort spent on grinding; and the mindfulness in seeing the “oneness” of this universe.

note: This is a collaborative work of nearly 40 people from the larger Lingnan community. They were instructed by the artist in making the paint with leaves, but no limitation on the content of their creation on the wall.

studies of leaves II

2011-05-09T09:06:00.007+03:00

rather than creating a beautiful or nicely composed drawing, I focus on visualizing and appreciating the aesthetics of a leaf that is initially hidden from human vision.

與其營造一個悅目的畫面，倒不如把隱藏在葉子的美重現眼前。

studies of leaves I

2011-05-09T08:59:00.004+03:00

Collecting leaves in Tuen Mun not only granted me a chance to familiarize the community, but also an opportunity to discover the link with the leaves. During my studies, I tried seeing them in depth; and listening to the stories being told silently.

葉子研究 I
採集葉子，讓我走入屯門，更讓我走入葉子的世界。在研究過程中，我細聽著每片葉子的故事。

The Leaves and the Colours

2011-05-09T08:29:00.007+03:00

The Leaves and the Colours

During an artist in residency program in my home town, I stationed in Tuen Mun, one of the earliest established satellite towns of Hong Kong since the 60s where is now the home of more than 500 000 people. The once forgotten linkage with the nature was restored by the leaves in between the buildings and on the roadside. Some 50 samples of leaves with various levels of freshness, types, shapes, colours and sizes were collected along the way and turned into the medium for my work.

Better City Better Life...

2010-09-01T15:58:00.022+03:00

「城市，讓生活更美好」- 上海世界博覽會的宣傳口號。在北京短住數月，這個世博會口號在大街小巷都隨處可見，心裡暗自狐疑，到底，城市與美好生活能畫上等號嗎？
when the ideology of modern life becomes a myth,
what a city can promise you...
a site-sensitive work created in Beijing

LET THEM GrOw

2010-07-22T09:15:00.007+03:00

artwork has its life...
how can it grow in your life?
a continuation of the Project PLANTING

join me at the AHNE'10 Art Festival in Helsinki

more

planting

2009-10-27T14:15:00.018+02:00

slide show of opening party (pictures by Cathérine Kuebel)

planting I
種 I
Finland Metro Newspaper
芬蘭都市日報
2009

The title “Planting” came after a conversation with my friend when I described the
progress of installation to her. “Planting” seems to be the best word to illustrate
the entire process. This project started about a year ago here in Helsinki when
darkness came in late autumn. I don’t remember when, where and how I first learnt
to make them. It came almost intuitively when I started to think of making something
with the Metro Newspaper I collected. The process was done partly in public spaces
and partly in my studio. The work is the “fruit” of personal experience interwoven with
the lives of a city and the participation of audience.

在組裝作品時，與朋友戲言把花一朵一朵置於地上，過程仿似種植一樣，非常耗時間。
作品最後亦名為「種」。創作始於一年前的十月，在芬蘭遇上使我鬱抑和寒冷的深秋。
黑暗與孤寂為這作品播下了種子。我不曾記得在那裡、那時和如何學會造這個花，但它
很不經意便從我的手裡「長」出來。花，帶來喜悅和希望，可能是我對未來的寄語。我
選擇在公共空間進行創作，通過作品與城市發生對話。

where did they go?

2009-06-05T19:20:00.011+03:00

old shoes; new stories
where did they go?

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who was it?

2009-06-04T18:49:00.012+03:00

2009

bits and pieces of mysterious evidence...
who's guilty and who's not?

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who did it?

2009-06-04T17:47:00.006+03:00

2009

it's chaotic, depressing, bewildered, suppressing...
i need to isolate my emotion

...i did three works in analyzing the site
...the results of my investigation were not anwers but more questions

a project in culture park patarei (a former prison and sea fortress in Tallinn, Estonia)

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what's europe

2009-06-04T17:32:00.008+03:00

2009

a work for a postcard exhibition in germany
with a theme - "what's europe?"
my answer is...

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connecting people - in a very basic way

2009-06-04T16:12:00.009+03:00

2009

if technologies fail to give us a more sustainable future - let's get back to basics.

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meditation / mediation

2009-06-04T16:05:00.007+03:00

2008

a continuous art intervention project to analyze the linkage of art / meditation / audience

watch the documentation:
central railway station - 31/12/20008
part 1
part 2

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smile :)

2009-06-04T15:46:00.021+03:00

snow
2008

all started with the concept of acupuncture.

if a city is like our body, where should I insert the needles in helsinki? and how can the "blockage" be cleared with my needles to retrieve its balance? my solution is this heart-warming message on snow... who will smile when they saw the message?

the project was done from nov 08 for a workshop.

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hello! is anybody there?

2009-06-04T15:38:00.013+03:00

2008

who am i talking to?

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danger!...

2009-06-04T15:27:00.010+03:00

2008

art or bureaucracy , which is more dangerous?
dedicated to too art gallery, hong kong
closed in august 2008

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in memory of a twig, ii

2009-06-04T15:18:00.005+03:00

2008

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in memory of a twig, i

2009-06-03T22:54:00.019+03:00

2008

i believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars - Walt Whitman

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symbiosis

2009-06-03T22:46:00.010+03:00

2007

By shedding away the glaring colors and attracting form, the strange creatures bonded with the trees and become part of the nature.

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here they come again and again...

2009-06-03T22:28:00.008+03:00

2007

a secret gathering in the outer space

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here they come again

2009-06-03T21:56:00.016+03:00

2005 - 2006

these genies have been the forest and wandered around the city...
what are they looking for?
do you believe they will suddenly appear near you?
yet it is never easy to locate them.

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let's play together

2009-06-01T20:46:00.010+03:00

2004

an invisible adventure in the forest

here they come

2009-06-01T20:38:00.006+03:00

2004

leaving the forest, these genies roamed around the city carrying an unknown message

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born of a new creature

2009-06-01T20:23:00.002+03:00

2003-2004

from the skin of the hut to skin of hundreds of genies
a new journey has begun...

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disguised relationship

2009-05-28T21:18:00.002+03:00

2003

the visible traces on the walls became the evidence
of communication between human and the nature

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