Lo Lai Lai Natalie: The Days Before The Silent Spring

The Days Before The Silent Spring was a commissioned project supported by WMA Hong Kong from the Hong Kong based artist Lo Lai Lai Natalie. Lai Lai has been engaged in a continuous contemplation of farming practice and ecology, her observations of which are closely-tied to a concern for the social climate in the city of Hong Kong, the vicissitudes and dynamics which transpire between the individual and the collective and the choices which emerge from and contribute to these.

This multi-channel video installation sees the artist weave together a spectrum of footage shot from different points of view in an homage to the decade-long journey of the farming collective Sangwoodgoon(生活館, literally ”House of Living”), to which she belongs, while reflecting on the multitude of worlds tied together and myriad of life-forms germinated by the practice of farming. Founded in March 2010 amidst the Anti-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Anti-XRL) and Protect Choi Yuen Village protests, Sangwoodgoon is a group of activists from different walks of life: photographers, designers, art and cultural professionals, educators, journalists, researchers, and writers. Over the years of their farming practice, they have all cultivated a deeper sense of connection and personal relationship with the land, and tasted the pride of new growth—as well as the exhaustion of a harvest. Expanding beyond the writing and observation of crops, flora and fauna, which is a hallmark of her past work, Lai Lai now turns her gaze to her fellow farmers, whose divergent demands, hopes, experiences and struggles are not only testaments to the exhausting nature of negotiations, but also fuel for the collective as a whole. 

In the work, conversations among the members of Sangwoodgoon are interlaced with clips Lai Lai shot in the field throughout the past decade, transforming the busy hubbub of daily life into a rustic polyphony across the field and its universe. From the interaction and fermentation of microorganisms to the various entanglements of flora, fauna, and the farmers, from the dissent and cooperation among group members to the correspondence and democratic cohabitation of communities, these overlapping sounds of the field together form a sonata set to a rhythm of sowing.

The idea of an impending ‘silent spring’ comes from late marine biologist Rachel Carson’s warning about a forthcoming crisis of species diversity, penned in the 1960s. In her eponymous book, Carson anticipated a gradual erasure of life- forms and sounds caused by pollution from pesticides. And today, in fact, decades of environmental deterioration and global conflicts

have brought us to a most appalling present. In this unprecedented chaos we still hear talk of vanishing diversities, lost autonomy, and the danger of silencing. Farmland may seem old and feeble, and the bacteria, species, and communities it nourishes may also feel trivial, but in precarious times their symphony could sound the beginning of a new act.

A smoky scene prominently features in the film, capturing the ethereal haze that often envelops her farmland in Hong Kong. Farmers burn leftover bones in their pots, meticulously hammering the charred remnants into smaller pieces. Occasionally, they also incinerate waste wood and bamboo sticks, letting the ashes cool before repurposing them as organic fertilizer. The smoke drifts with the wind, creating a subtle outline that gradually dissipates in the lingering mist, embodying the transient nature of life and labor.

This imagery resonates profoundly with the artist Lo Lai Lai Natalie’s core belief: whether we confront struggle, conflict, social movements, farming, or the experience of diaspora, these challenges serve as mere starting points. They reflect the intricate tapestry of life, where each thread contributes to a larger narrative. In this delicate interplay of existence, Lai Lai emphasizes the importance of authenticity—an unwavering commitment to truth in the face of adversity.

Participant

Lo Lai Lai Natalie