Under the Lychee Trees
2024
glass, polymer clay, resin, bamboo,
soil, fabric, plaster, chicken wire
Goldsmiths Degree Fine Art Show
St. Johns Church, London
glass, polymer clay, resin, bamboo,
soil, fabric, plaster, chicken wire
Goldsmiths Degree Fine Art Show
St. Johns Church, London
Artist Ya-Hsuan Hsiao envisions a unique worldview where, upon death, individuals enter a waiting room. Within this realm, they encounter a souvenir kiosk formed by the memories of their past life, from which they select precious moments as mementos to carry into the afterlife. Past and future intersect here—a space where the deceased receive life anew. In the artwork Under the Lychee Tree, the artist embeds this conceptual framework within the story of a semi-fictional lychee family, weaving a narrative around how departed lives are laid to rest within a lychee orchard.
Through the mode of fictional narrative, the artist utilizes the installation as a fantastical setting—a intermediate space—where the characters of the story, the audience, and the artist manifest, encounter one another, intertwine, and ultimately achieve reconciliation. Operating as a threshold between the public and the private, this site becomes a repository where the narrator gathers memories and fleeting moments. As recollections and stories are selected, arranged, and recounted here, the work underscores the profound function and power of fictional narrative models.
Through the mode of fictional narrative, the artist utilizes the installation as a fantastical setting—a intermediate space—where the characters of the story, the audience, and the artist manifest, encounter one another, intertwine, and ultimately achieve reconciliation. Operating as a threshold between the public and the private, this site becomes a repository where the narrator gathers memories and fleeting moments. As recollections and stories are selected, arranged, and recounted here, the work underscores the profound function and power of fictional narrative models.
Documentation ：
Kai Chieh Chang , Ya Hsuan Hsiao