"I hope you are doing well" by Johnny Au
During his residency in the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago, Johnny Au Kin-wai began to explore the possibilities of abandoned objects. He found old postcards from all around the United States for sale in the local antique and vintage clothing stores; some of them still with the handwriting of their senders on them. Were these postcards ever mailed, did the recipients forget them, or did they end up at these second-hand shops for other reasons? For Johnny, these old postcards were like some kind of benediction gone astray.
For this exhibition, Johnny gathered the old postcards showing images of Chicago landmarks. He then went back to the locations of these landmarks, attempting to conduct experiments which involved reinterpreting this source material by going on sound walks, and also putting them in relation with sounds collected from the Internet, or with found objects with the addition of voiceovers by passers-by and second-hand shop owners. He tried to imagine the people and places as if they were still present in those places or had just vanished from them. He then re-presents the histories and emotions contained in these postcards through sound installations.
《I hope you are doing well. 》－歐健韋個人展覽
歐健韋在芝加哥 Experimental Sound Studio 的駐留計劃中，展開了對遺棄物品的探索。他發現在一些二手古董店和服裝店內會出售美國各地的舊明信片，其中有些還保留著寄件人的文字。這些明信片究竟是從未送出、被接收者遺忘了、還是因其他原因輾轉來到二手店呢？對於他而言，這些舊明信片像是一種被遺忘的祝福。
在這次展覽中，他持續收集印有芝加哥地標的舊明信片，並重新到訪這些地標的位置，嘗試通過聲音漫步、來自現成物或網絡上的聲音、旁白等多種方式進行實驗和重組，想像那些依然存在或已經消失的人和地，並以聲音裝置的形式將這些明信片盛載的歷史和情感重新呈現出來。
Johnny Au Kin-wai (b.2000, Hong Kong) mainly works in painting, drawing, and installation, delving into feelings of powerlessness in our daily lives and social environments. Drawing inspiration from the interactions around him, he employs a repetitive methodology to uncover the emotional experience and core essence of powerlessness in daily life. In his work he takes pleasure in experimenting with various everyday objects, investigating their materiality and context while examining how they align with his conceptual processes. The integration of repetition and ready-made objects thus serves to create tension, a way to capture the emotions behind their interactions. By embracing the imperfections and powerlessness found in the repetitive process, his artworks reflect our shared experiences, revealing the human condition and our resilience.
Johnny Au Kin-wai is supported by soundpocket’s Artist Support Program 2023–24.