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
For as long as I can remember, my family has owned a small orchard in southern Taiwan (Pingtung). Many plants and fruits are grown in the garden. Sometimes the ripe fruit is too late to be picked and falls under the fruit tree to become a feast for insects and flies and multitudes of life under the soil, where it gradually decays and becomes part of the sustenance for other life. The lychee fruits are usually in full bloom in May, slowly turning from a greenish colour to a deep pink, branches are weighed down by the weight of the fruit, and the air is filled with a sweet, greasy aroma.
At the end of one year‘s harvest season, the lychee fruits in the garden were almost all collected, and I sat on the swing in the orchard playing. The swing was right next to a towering lychee tree, and I was enjoying the early afternoon sunshine and extending my legs as I tried to swing myself up as high as I could go. As I shook my legs more vigorously, my vision changed, and at one moment of ascent, I saw the pink colour of the top of the nearby lychee tree. Once again, I swung myself up to the highest point and realised that there were clusters upon clusters of bright, full, ripe, unpicked lychees glistening in the sunlight. When I realised this, I immediately jumped off the swing and ran to report my discovery to Grandpa, who was in charge of the picking work at that time. My family was surprised that they didn’t realise how much fruit had been left out of the harvest.
At the end of one year‘s harvest season, the lychee fruits in the garden were almost all collected, and I sat on the swing in the orchard playing. The swing was right next to a towering lychee tree, and I was enjoying the early afternoon sunshine and extending my legs as I tried to swing myself up as high as I could go. As I shook my legs more vigorously, my vision changed, and at one moment of ascent, I saw the pink colour of the top of the nearby lychee tree. Once again, I swung myself up to the highest point and realised that there were clusters upon clusters of bright, full, ripe, unpicked lychees glistening in the sunlight. When I realised this, I immediately jumped off the swing and ran to report my discovery to Grandpa, who was in charge of the picking work at that time. My family was surprised that they didn’t realise how much fruit had been left out of the harvest.
Documentation ：
Kai Chieh Chang , Ya Hsuan Hsiao