Wandering in the dreamland

EVENT DESCRIPTION

“This is a cheerless tale from a previous generation.

In 1937, my grandfather Yu Changde was born in Indonesia. His parents were Indonesian, but his life took an unexpected turn when his mother remarried a Chinese dentist named Yu. At just eight months old, Changde embarked on a journey with his new stepfather, entering a life that was foreign to him.

As time passed, Changde’s mother once again proposed a divorce tofrom the Chinese dentist. The Indonesian authorities decided that Changde’s father should take care of him. This forced him to leave his birth mother behind and adapt to a life with a stepfather who had no blood ties to him.

My grandfather frequently expressed his desire to revisit the seaside that held cherished memories from his childhood in Indonesia. Unfortunately, due to his age and physical limitations, he could no longer undertake such a journey. However, he firmly believed that Indonesia was his true homeland and cherished the wish to be laid to rest there after his passing. In the spring of 2018, my husband and I made the decision to travel to Indonesia, aiming to revive my grandfather’s remaining memories of the country.

The Indonesia that resided in my grandfather’s heart was a construct of imagination and memory. Through the medium of photography, my intention is to engage with my grandfather in an authentic conversation about the connection between the present and the past.”

Lumenvisum presents: “New Light XV : “Wandering in the dreamland” — Solo Exhibition by Chucky Li”, an exhibition that invites the viewers to explore the photographer’s vision of Indonesia, as well as her way of re-constructing her grandfather’s childhood memory through photography.

New Light XV : “Wandering in the dreamland” — Solo Exhibition by Chucky Li

Artist Sharing Session: 2024.1.6, Saturday, 15:00-16:30

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Li Wai Kei was born in Hong Kong in 1993. She graduated from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Communication,  specializing in photography. Since graduation, she has been working as an artist and commercial photographer. Her works mainly focus on personal life, observations of people and things around her. Her creations revolve around themes of identity, nature, religion, Southeast Asian history and culture, aiming to address how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us through exploring the current state of affairs.

In recent years, Li has also engaged into the field of photography education, teaching university and high school students of different ages. Her courses cover topics such as basic photography, art photography, cyanotype, pinhole cameras, and darkroom developing. Through these courses, she hopes to deepen students' understanding and appreciation of photography as an art form.