THAT YEAR,
THAT TREE

 

 
Dexter Lee.jpg

2019
The Sun, branches and shadow
Video installation
Dimensions variable

 

Dexter LEE Yin Tsang

The big banyan tree in front of the East Gate, the “hollow” Autumn Maple and the giant Camphor Tree (The Five-fingered) at the Fung Shui Wood, these trees have stood in Lai Chi Wo village for more than a century. Lai Chi Wo is where I can feel how the Hakkanese live with nature for about 400 years. When I heard the villagers telling me the story between them and the trees, I could feel I was there.

It was the shadow of the tree under the sun which picks up our past. That year, that tree, the shadows record the memories of each other. The children were flying in between the branches of the trees and falling into the world of books, the grownups harvested the fresh fruits and flowers. That tree, that year, we might not be there, but the sun would still draw beautiful stories on the earth.

Details in life inspire my creativity, while I hope to inspire the others to apprehend their life through my works.