Manna

Sugar, rubber stamp

Year 2021

Size Dimensions variable

Part of Little Albert Joint Exhibition

Bread AND freedom

The Hebrew people have escaped to freedom in the wilderness only to find that there is no food or water in the desert; they complain and with nostalgia recall the food they ate in Egypt as slaves.  God responds that God will provide food from heaven, the “manna”, as much as each person needs.

Bread OR freedom?

What if the manna were to have been showered in the land of Hong Kong?  What do we get from “heaven”? 

People do not live to eat; they eat to live (living with freedom). Living is not only eating, but also realising the fruits of life and labour, which is possible only with freedom.  

In this work, I attempt to contemplate “manna” in the form of sets of codes showered by the government in order to achieve an ordered social system.  The authority may see its laws as a unilateral benevolence to the people in order to maintain daily livelihood (bread), however, whether its people share the same views truly depends on the content and context of the situation. People need a channel to express their views in order to weave agreements, social or legislative, that work for the benefit of all (freedom).

180 sugar coated red rubber stamps (with diameters from 10mm to 40mm) to symbolise manna will be spread on the ground.  There is no design on the stamps thus encouraging the audience to fill in the blanks and to project their own ideal sets of codes and values. 

瑪納

糖、橡皮圖章

年份 2021

大小 不固定

麵包與自由

逃離埃及的希伯來人雖然重獲自由，卻發現沙漠中沒有糧水，天天抱怨沒得溫飽，甚至懷念在埃及作為奴隸吃的食物。上帝回應將根據每人的需要天降甘露 — 瑪納。

麵包抑或自由？

瑪納落在香港的土地上會怎麼樣？我們會從「天庭」得到什麼？

我們不是為溫飽而生，而是為自由生活而存在。人生怎樣開花結果，都要透過自由意念去栽種。

這件作品以「瑪納」代表政權由上而下推行的法規，以維護社會秩序。當局視法律為給人民生活的優厚待遇（麵包）；但是，不斷變化的社會環境卻影響市民對制度的認同感。 人們需要渠道來表達他們的觀點，從而平衡各社會群組的利益（自由）。

180個裹糖的紅色橡皮圖章（直徑由10毫米至40毫米）象徵甘露。沒有刻字的圖章，鼓勵觀眾構想一套純屬自己的規條。