Evaporates

The definition of a place coincides with architecture; transliterating market into mar-git, two meeting and bonding together—an intimate relationship. A special bird call at 5 AM accompanied her over there in Phnom Penh. Gobble, gobble, om, om. Taking nine steps to the south on the balcony, sitting by an unknown corner table, observing a long line of ants on their sugar hunt; collecting fruit-skins that curled up in distinctive gestures; a disoriented mosquito, sucking blood, landing on a familiar skin—this act of pausing achieved a balance between movement and stillness. The experience of living together in Phnom Penh allowed them to re-examine the ways in which one may participate in creation. To be caught in an unfamiliar environment can indeed, at first, sharpen one’s perception, but cultural differences, language barriers, and the discomfort and anxiety that comes with the climate interfered on a daily basis; one had to also be mindful of the etiquette and emotional restraint that come with living with others. In an environment of unending heat, an environment of production and material scarcity, the will to create was held back by mundane tasks, and every participant was dealing with a unique emotional challenge. The place where they have lived together, its length, its humidity, its light and shadow change from one hour to the next; its animals, its winds, its some places may refer to a mood, a sound, or a smell, rather than a physical space.

“Evaporates” at Kiang Malingue’s Sik On Street space is organised by Yu Ji, and is the first chapter born out of the self-organised residency program in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Featured in the exhibition are works by all artist friends who participated in PLAY KNOW ATTENTION: Casey Robbins (Vermont, New York), Ho King Man (New York, Guangzhou), Boat Zhang (Tokyo, Shanghai) and Kojiro Kobayashi (Tokyo). The artists reminisce about the space and time of the residency in Hong Kong, living together again at Kiang Malingue in the last month of 2024.

*PLAY KNOW ATTENTION was supported by M Art Foundation