https://lydiawong.co.uk/work daily 1.0 2026-05-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1557409425592-X3329VANLYWSQHR3IELR/fullsizeoutput_1e80.jpeg WORK - Stomach That Can Stomach You (2019) “Stomach That Can Stomach You (2019)” was a narrative installation that was exhibited at Goldsmith MFA’s Deptford Creek Studios. The installation depicts the form of the stomach in various states of distress. In Chinese medicine, the stomach is the organ which creates the emotions anxiety, mistrust and worry. I am interested in our ongoing quest for objectivity, perfection of measurement and how this relates to the self. This installation follows on from “Chunk (2017)” which explored the definition of a kilogram being digitised into an algorithm. This mirrors the current trend of our quest for the quantified self. We seek to objectively measure the self with trackers and our desirability in social media algorithms, rendering what was traditionally immeasurable (emotions, desirability etc.) into comparable digital formats. As our ability to measures become finer, objectivity becomes no closer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1534700486114-RCA47VVMS8D97FIHQIDI/website+%281%29.jpg WORK - Mind Your Ts & Ds (2018) “Mind Your Ts & Ds (2018)” was a narrative installation exhibited as part of Deptford X Festival’s curated exhibition “Gold X”. It discusses how the journey of measurement has been fettered with absurdity, from the moment man has tried to fix nature into measurable absolutes. The installation touches on one of earliest modes of measurement, the cubit: an ancient unit of length based on the length of the presiding Egyptian pharoah’s forearm, from his elbow to the tip of his middle finger. It explores the writing of Karan Barad in her article “What Is the Measure of Nothingness?” and the philosophical questions raised in quantum measurements. I’m interested in how all systems of measure are entrenched in hierarchical power structures. Is not all measurement determined by those in control of the data? And those who create the instruments of measure? Some intentions of measure seek to serve the structures as we see in the Social Credit System used by the Chinese government to rank its citizens and to a lesser degree, the financial credit system in western societies. Does not all measurement have inherent vice? Algorithms are created by men so there is an inherent bias. However, measurement itself seeks to be an objective process. I'd like to explore the tension between the two. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1570997410600-ZNXWREI477K36YRX33PV/edit+07+%282000px%29.jpg WORK - Weigh Up (2019) “Weigh Up (2019)” was exhibited in the historic Laurie Grove Baths as part of Goldsmith MFA’s 2019 degree show. This narrative installation investigates and reconstructs the ways in which we quantify the self. It moves past arithmetical ways of measurement, but rather delves into unconventional metrics that concern the body and emotions. How do we measure the seemingly immeasurable (the self and emotions) and what are the implications for objectivity and inherent bias therein? Measurement of the self makes us question the pillars of our identity. Can we measure how “good” we are as citizens, partners and friends? The objects weighed up in tandem speak to measure of self against others. The curved floor and the crane allude to how comparisons are shaped by its structure. The installation perpetuates itself through glass wax melting onto the root ball, while continuously dissolving unto itself. The organ like root ball pulsates life into the installation. “Weigh Up (2019)” also looks at the quantified self through the legend of the Monkey King in Chinese mythology. The Monkey King attempts to achieve longevity and supernatural powers through stealing immortal peaches from heaven's garden. The longevity peach holds a special place in Chinese mythology for its ability to grant immortality to humans when consumed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1480965215188-3CXM3TSQLURH7W1WF4ZA/01+YA+Group+Shot.jpg WORK - You Alright (2016) A narrative installation and a book were created based on a written piece titled ‘You Alright’. The protagonist in the story is a painter who views himself as a consummate storyteller. He grapples with the challenges of an insular existence through the catharsis of painting. My visual practice channels this approach in dealing with queries raised in my writing, cumulating in an immersive narrative experiences where the viewer and I can partake as the protagonist or wilful observer. In composing central scenes in the story, materials are deliberately chosen with the same intention as rhetorical devices in writing - to deepen the viewer’s and my connection to queries and themes in the story. The interplay of light with materials seeks to persuade alternative perspectives and occasionally elicit answers. With thanks to: Amelie Bonhomme (Book Layout), Ben Yates (Video) and Claudius Ricketts (Selected Photos). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1541065982931-BHNTQ6JPD0SVO368463N/image-asset.jpeg WORK - Chunk (2017) “Chunk” (2017) explores the scientific definition of the kilogram being dematerialised from a physical artefact to an algorithm. Once thought to be absolute, the physical kilogram was no longer considered objective as despite our best scientific ingenuity, all material changes. As we have digitised the definition of a kilogram, objectivity moves away from the object - however, the very thing it seeks to define, mass, has no meaning apart from in the physical world. This video seeks to explore this tension. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1541064369989-P8HWKLP6OLO37B5GRUYG/fault+fraught+freeze+01.jpg WORK https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1649170893003-I9SD59S8CEJAQ6YDB53B/FS+Intro+Page.jpg WORK - "The four celestial guardians in formation" (2020) ◾️⚪️ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1649171656051-VZ3EBGRXMG1W267AHFV0/During+-+Side+View+2+%28s%29.jpg WORK https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1571852439803-ZZBXEE0CD3AZHNXSKGGY/IMG_3183+%282000px%29.jpg WORK https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1664311704174-JW6IPV6UJJOHJ076B4P5/01+Front.jpg WORK https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1696960041718-0RT3LO4303UFNZ3BFTY0/Torso+-+Side+%28s%29.jpg WORK https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1712601376121-6WIIOCUBDBVV5HYIM6UY/Torso+1+2000px.jpg WORK - Crab, Ascend (2024) - Bamboo & Pigments Kite This is the bamboo & pigments kite from “Crab, Ascend!” (2024), a sculptural performance featuring two kites. The construction of this kite is modelled on traditional Chinese kite making techniques, wherein bamboo is shaped by heat and water. Ground up crab shell, sulphur, wood ash and charcoal are used to decorate the body of the kite. These pigments illustrate the nanostructure of the shell of a blue flower crab as seen under a scanning electron microscope. This kite represents the spirit of the crab rising from the earthly realm to the metaphysical realm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1712693472054-ICI6967UETK4B2IS4YAU/Screenshot%2B2024-03-25%2Bat%2B21.04.04.jpg WORK - “Crab, Ascend!” (2024) Format: video, duration 10mins. An excerpt of the film can be viewed here‍. ‍ “Crab, Ascend!” (2024) is an artist film centred around two crab-shaped two kites flown in a sculptural performance against an open sky. It asks how identity and sense of a place are preserved in the face of increasing censorship and autocracy, from the perspective of an artist originally from Hong Kong. It explores these themes through the phenology of a crab’s moulting cycle and Chinese mythologies about afterlife and reincarnation. Specifically, its delves into the Taoist mythology of forgetting as a condition for reincarnation. It also uses the metaphor of a crab’s moulting cycle to ask whether we can form a perfect living archive, in response to books and digital archives being disappeared for political reasons. Screen-shots from the film are shown here. The bamboo and pigments kite were made using traditional Chinese kite making techniques. (details) The metal and porcelain kite, which was exhibited at Frieze Art Fair in 2023, was modelled on Chinese jade burial suits. (details) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5845af11d2b857a5e732eac5/1780071700596-VYZ96O95FYBHT6SCTK2H/%281%29+260512_lydia_saltywet_exhib_Capture_0010+1+1_edit3+copy.jpg WORK - Salty, Wet (2026) “Salty, Wet” (2026) was a solo exhibition at Limbo consisting of two interconnected works exploring Hong Kong’s shifting collective identity under political change. The first work features a tableau of salt-encrusted crabs emerging from collapsed scaffold forms, referencing the bamboo scaffolding that has long defined Hong Kong’s skyline and is now gradually disappearing from the city. The salt is infused with Chinese medicinal herbs associated with healing and resistance. Drawing on Lo Ting, the mythological ancestor of Hong Kong said to live between land and sea, the crabs’ transformative shell moulting is used to treat them as living archives. The second is a diptych video documenting my visit to Yim Tin Tsai, Hong Kong’s last remaining salt field, exploring the often hidden history of salt production and its importance to the city’s identity. “Salty Wet 鹹濕”, my essay published last year in Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, explores salt as both a material and metaphorical force within Hong Kong’s cultural, political, and sensual identity. (link) - Alongside the exhibition, the PV featured a selection of short crab-centric talks from Crab Museum residents and friends, examining political and philosophical angles to crabs and their representation in iconography. 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