By: Chris Kaufman

When the village he lived in began collapsing, Yukai (He/They) decided to tell the story of the transition of his hometown, Xiamen, via his unique perspective.

Xiamen is one of six special economic zones separated from Taiwan by a channel. Its economy has dramatically increased with its new status. On the island, the Siming District, facing Taiwan, has long been a more mature urban area, while the Huli District, inland, has been slower to develop and still has many villages dating back to ancient times. However, with the recent policy announced by the local government, demolition has begun in these villages. 

Having grown up in a small village among them, the artist turned their camera to the communities they grew up in, capturing the transformation of their hometown. “…Then, we were about to leave the village, and in the last semester of my senior year, my parents FaceTime with me and told me that the village had been razed to the ground. By the time I returned home, only the village’s ancient temple remained. Fortunately, I had already had the idea to start documenting our village and left some photos. After realizing how fast the demolition process was going, I started contacting my relatives and friends who also lived in the villages, and then I spent most of my summer vacation carrying my camera to other villages, trying to write down what they looked like before they were destroyed by the bulldozers.” The artist said.

The images depict scenes from multiple villages the artist has visited, as well as things that have been left or preserved. While the pictures serve as evidence and the project remains ongoing, many scenes the artist has documented no longer exist. Therefore, these images also represent the collective memories of people who used to be there.

There’s one image in the exhibition showing a multi-layered building. The artist introduced it as a part of urbanization culture: ‘The house with the red roof was where the locals lived; I guess a family lived there. As you may know, urbanization requires a lot of labor, and many immigrants from rural areas came to the city to assist with that. However, they needed help to afford the high prices of apartments within the city. The locals discovered opportunities to earn money by renting out cheaper housing. Thus, they built apartments like this for rental purposes.

Speaking of the title, the artist has expressed that he noticed a lot of changes happening based on constant accumulation, just like the weather. And Xiamen’s weather is strongly influenced by the sea that surrounds it. Therefore, he named the project “Sea Breeze.”

The exhibition Sea Breeze will be on view at Gallery 456, beginning on February 23rd and continuing through March 9th, and will be open Monday through Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling 212-431-9740.

Published by: Martin De Juan