THIS CAN’T LAST consists of a collection of works that explore the essence of ephemerality and the torment of impermanence. The works “11:11” by Sunnie Cao, “November” by Helinda Yu, “Waterfall” by Rachel Feng and “There Is Only One Sun” by Mila Feng. The works range in a variety of mediums including a VR experience, a series of paintings, a video and a 3 part sculpture. All of these pieces dissect themes regarding the fleetingness of situations in the world around us. Natural elements and forces are all present in each of these works, which reveal the complex relationship we have with the transitory world we inhabit.  Although created at the same time, the artists worked separately, exploring themes they found resonated with themselves respectively. Ideas of impermanence, memory and isolation all reside in each work, showing that perhaps as we evolve emotionally as autonomous, independent beings, we do so convergently.

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11:11 by Sunnie Cao is a VR experience whereby the viewer is invited to enter a space that no longer occupies a physical space. The space now exists as a memory of the demolished site, its uncertain and non-physical form is akin to a dreamscape, or liminal space. The clinical, white, plaster walls shift as the viewer moves through, suffocating yet oddly comforting as it triggers ideas of tangible spaces and intangible subconsciousness.

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November by Helinda Yu is a series of paintings that record the ever-morphing sky through November 2020. Painted at the same time of day, the artist records the changes of the sky as the planet turns. The repetition of days displayed in a calendar format at first glance may appear to visualise the certainty of passing time, however, through a darker lens the melancholic repetition reads anxiety and desperation for the uncertain promise of tomorrow.

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Waterfall by Rachel Feng is a video that captures the ephemerality of substances like ice and light; their tangibility and their ghosts. It questions whether one can materialise grief, how people should commemorate those who have never crossed their paths, and whether assigning meaning to a monument evokes or replaces grief.

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There is Only One Sun by Mila Feng is a three-part sculpture that marks the sun’s trace like wrinkles on our skin. A parabolic mirror refracts the rays of the sun and burns a plaque of wood, creating a dark mark that eventually pierces through the wood. Through this experience, a monumental yet intangible force is captured and preserved for eternity. 

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In turn, these works become an existential study of the minute changes we are able to make when faced with the invincible opponent of time. These individual works all speak to one another on the ephemerality of the present and the desperate attempts at marking our existence in a world that holds no memory.