Last Call in the Blue Hour

"Last Call in the Blue Hour" contemplates the profound impact of physical distance on the process of grieving and coping with loss. This work stems from personal confrontations with mortality, intensified by a recurring sense of separation from those I've lost. This distance, once a buffer, has paradoxically both shielded and delayed the full acceptance of their permanent absence, fostering an illusion of their presence awaiting my return.

The Blue Hour symbolizes a poignant threshold moment—neither day nor night but a reflective pause between endings and beginnings. It embodies the duality of melancholy and clarity, mirroring the complex emotional landscape one navigates in the aftermath of loss. This installation captures the essence of such transitional phases in life, where the cool, introspective ambiance of the blue hour pervades our sense of reality.

Set in the corner of my room, near my desk, the installation is bathed in the ethereal light of a pale blue, transforming an ordinary space into a realm of contemplation. This corner, a metaphorical crossroads of stagnation and potential, becomes the backdrop for the paper planes that symbolize my attempts to bridge the vast distance separating me from my family. The planes, caught mid-flight against the wall, represent the suspended state of my longing and the ephemeral nature of connection and separation, encapsulated by the phrases "into the blue" and "out of the blue."

Integral to the narrative are bottles filled with "blue," a nod to the cultural significance of alcohol in Chinese tradition as a medium of shared experiences, whether in joy or sorrow. The imagery of two toasting shot glasses, with one lowered in adherence to a gesture of respect and farewell, captures a poignant moment of one-sided communion with the past. The notion of being "drunk on a memory" evokes the bittersweet realization that, despite the vividness of our recollections, the dialogue remains unreciprocated.

Through "The Blue Hour," I invite viewers into a personal space of reflection, where the interplay of memory, distance, and time paints a landscape of continuous longing and eventual acceptance. This installation is a visual and emotional exploration of the silent dialogues we hold with the absent, a testament to the enduring human capacity to find solace and meaning in the echoes of what once was.