Tradition of Leftovers

Tradition of Leftovers is a serial artwork which made of epoxy resin and leftovers.

Born as a member of a traditional family in Asia, I am aware of many terrible consequences of local traditions. I created this project based on one of the traditional customs, bundling special food together with red envelopes (“壓年”). People would not consume those food until after the Chinese New Year. By doing so, they believe it would bring good fortune in the year to come.

The New Year’s Eve dinner is always a grand event, so every household must prepare a full table of food for the whole family. However, there would always be

leftovers, symbolizing a bountiful year to come. In the same fashion, most of the food from “壓年” would be stale after the New Year. That is to say, people will have to waste some of those food every year. Hence, I tried to collect and reuse items from leftovers this year. By storing them in epoxy resin, I extended their life span as I prevented those leftovers from decomposing. At the same time, meaningful memories created from the New Year’s Eve dinner may also be preserved by this means.