Rice is Greener on the Other Side

2024

Porcelain photo (Cooked rice and mold fungi)

47x35 inches each, a set of 3

 

This work was created after I moved to the U.S., where the humidity and weather differ greatly from my hometown, Hong Kong. I used to live in a neighborhood called Butterfly Valley, where moths often appeared as uninvited guests. In folklore, moths are believed to carry the spirits of ancestors returning to visit their homes. One night, after opening a family album of grandma's old photographs before bed, I encountered a moth flickering its wings in the dark. Some say, "the light brings you home," but I wonder—could it be the home that brings you light?

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I sculpt a moth from rice and allow it to be colored by fungi through an indirect and invisible process that mirrors the temperature and humidity of Hong Kong’s climate. The fungi growing on the fresh rice marks the passage of time and evokes a quiet sense of longing and dilapidated memory. When I return home, will it still feel the same? Will the moth still linger by my summer window?

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This work uses rice as a medium to explore the emotional landscape of leaving and returning home.

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Exhibition and commission work with WMA:
Sushi Grass in Paradise & Greener Rice on The Other Side

Curated by Anthony Yung
Artists: Holly Lee & Sharon Lee

Exhibition Event:
The Rice is Greener on the Other Side: An art practice informed by moulding and molding
A conversation between curator Anthony Yung and artist Sharon Lee

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