Silent Floaters

Jan Mot, Brussels, 2023

For Silent Floaters, Yeung considers indicators, elements that indirectly reveal the presence of other elements — like smoke manifests air currents, or the worm-like forms in the eye (‘floaters’) which appear when one looks at the sky. What if indicators could also make visible the state of a relationship or the unspoken ties between friends, like two subtly different shades of the same color? At Jan Mot, Yeung uses the mulberry tree as a source of indicators. Its dried leaves expand or turn brittle depending on the atmosphere. Silk thread indicates the passage of silkworms that once fed on its leaves. Even the paper made from the tree can act as an indicator of the humidity in the air, which the visitor’s presence will affect, imperceptibly but inevitably.

Moisture indicator (mulberry)
2023
Mulberry leaves, silk, and metal

Not good enough indicator (folding)
2023
Toner and mulberry ink on mulberry paper, and wooden frame

Swinging floaters (preferred friends)
2023
Mulberry paper, silk, mulberry wood bird stand, and metal 

Corner floater (single)
2023
Mulberry paper, silk, and metal

The friendship tree (mulberry)
2023
Plastic bottles, string, and mulberry tree (Morus alba Pendula)