When I was writing this article, it has already been one month since the grand opening of Apparition, an exhibition I curated for Heidi Lau for the La Biennale di Venezia Collateral Event. My friends would always ask me what was the biggest return I got from planning the exhibition. The truth is that sometimes I don’t even know which part of the curation I should start talking about. I enjoyed the most when I was meeting people and having new experiences when doing the exhibition.

A fan of Yam Kim-Fai

Song of the Exile was the most exciting work for me when I was brainstorming about the exhibition. Heidi wanted to showcase a sound installation work that was co-produced by a Cantonese opera fan living overseas. The work was inspired by the Lou Lim Ioc Garden in the Macao Peninsula. Heidi picked Song of the Exile not only because of the catchy lyrics “the wind brings the message and the round moon in the autumn blends into the night sky”, but also for its strength in showing nostalgia. We got into contact with a Cantonese opera lover and performer Yi who comes to the Chinatown in New York very often. Yi learns from famous Cantonese opera actress Yam Kim-Fai. She didn’t agree to perform Song of the Exile in the very beginning as she believed it is the representative work sung by Sun Ma Sze Tsang. We voiced our disagreement. We don’t think Song of the Exile can only be sung by men. Legendary Hong Kong actress and singer Anita Mui had also performed this song in her movie Rogue. Yi eventually agreed to perform the song for our project. But she also sang Reunion at Rouge Alley originally performed by Yam Kim-Fai for us. The performance was graceful. We were lucky to have Yi to work with. We even found her personal Facebook page. Her looks in Cantonese opera performances look young and dashing. Very few would think that she is already in her sixties and has five grandchildren.

A hardware store owner

There is a very complicated work named The Primordial Molder at the exhibition. The artwork is a ceramic fountain that combines a garden and a pound. Theoretically speaking, there should be quite a number of professional companies that are able to handle the technical details of this artwork. The truth is many artists would rely on these companies to complete their complex art projects. Sometimes artists’ creation process is separate from the production process. But we had a limited budget, and therefore we had to do it ourselves. Then I instantly thought about the hardware stores in the Chinatown. The owner of the hardware store didn’t really understand our requests in the beginning. But he nonetheless offered to help us after we explained to him that we were trying to make an art project work. He mentioned that he also liked to experiment on different components and hardware when he was young. With his help, we were able to overcome the difficulties in solving the technical details. I felt extremely fulfilled after we finished preparing the exhibition and tested the water fountain. I was glad that we could still make bold attempts in an increasingly professional industry where budgets are getting smaller. I was also grateful for having the change to meet a helpful and interesting owner of a hardware store.

Photo courtesy of artist and The Macao Museum of Art 

A master curator

Don’t Look Back or You Will Be Sorry is the only exhibiting work that does not have any ceramic element. But it somehow showcases Heidi’s creativity perfectly. Heidi uses lighting and sound installations in a bathroom setting to tell a superstitious story she heard from her grandmother. According to tradition, you will have to say “excuse me” to the ghosts in the bathroom before you enter and use it. There was a member of the curating team that didn’t really understand the exhibit. “So this is supposed to scare people?” he asked. From his perspective, foreigners will not understand this. But isn’t it great to give foreign visitors an opportunity to learn a Cantonese phrase and get some ideas about the local traditions and folk tales? I was eager to explain the concept to him, but I couldn’t come up with much to say. This bugged me. But I didn’t expect that he would later come to understand the message the exhibit tries to convey after only a couple of days. He even adjusted the lighting and layout to bring out better effects. I was touched then.

Photo courtesy of artist and The Macao Museum of Art 

At the preview, the whole curating team was super busy. I was walking through a narrow hallway facing the bathroom with my colleague. Interestingly, she called out “excuse me.” I was really moved by this because that was the moment I felt that this work also brings elements which can reach the local residents. We always believed that even though the exhibition is being held in Venice, it still speaks to Macao, a city that has left such an impact on us.