Waiting for a connection等待連繫

In Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild (1990), Tide pauses beside a solitary telephone booth in the rain, waiting for a call that never comes. Recontextualising this image within my experience of moving to Sheffield, this installation reflects on the quiet isolation, bureaucratic limbo, and lingering uncertainty of building a life as a migrant in the UK. The accompanying photograph captures a worn-out phone booth at night on a deserted street - a stark contrast to the dense, round-the-clock energy of the Asian metropolises many of us leave behind. When the city shuts down early, the profound silence forces you inward. The illuminated booth becomes a symbol for the fragile, one-way lifelines we use to stay anchored across time zones while navigating the heavy stillness of visa waiting periods, job searches, and the longing to belong.

Opposite the photograph hangs an old British wall telephone. When visitors pick up the receiver, they hear a field recording created by dialing the exact number printed on the phone booth in the photo. Rather than the silence of the film, the earpiece fills with a persistent, unanswered ringing into the cold night air.

Lifting the receiver, the audience physically steps into the migrant's posture - holding a device that promises connection, only to be met with the echo of distance. Presented with cinematic subtitles in English and Chinese, the piece invites you to hold that receiver, pause in the noise, and feel the weight of listening for a home thousands of miles away.