Orchids Return to the Sea

2026. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Portraits of five orchids from Lantau Island, home to the artist, accompanied by an imagined conversation among these orchids about migrating to the sea. Instead of traditional brushes, the artist drew with twigs and vines collected during walks.

The dialogue:

紫紋兜蘭道 鯨做到了 一千五百萬年 牠們做到了 儒艮做到了 連喜鹽草也做到了 就在這裡 我們腳下的水域 我們離海僅有一步 鹹腥的氣息撲面而來 海要不要我們回去 這不重要 重要的是 能否喚醒祖先留在我們細胞裡的記憶

Paphiopedilum purpuratum: The whales did. Fifteen million years, but they did. The dugongs did. Even seagrass did—right here in our own water. We're already so close we can smell the salt. It's not about whether the ocean wants us back. It's about whether we remember what our ancestors knew.

廣東隔距蘭道 我將沒有樹 但有珊瑚 堅硬的石珊瑚 佈滿縫隙 不是那些軟綿綿搖曳的海扇 紅藻附生在死去的珊瑚骨骼上 我也能這樣嗎 雀鯛呵護著牠的藻園 牠也會照料我嗎

Cleisostoma simondii: We’ll have no trees. But there are corals. Hard corals with crevices. Not those soft ones. Not those swaying sea fans. Red algae grow on dead corals. Could we do that? Damselfish cultivate algae gardens. Could they tend us?

竹葉蘭道 不會再有蜂 不會再有蠅 不會再有飛蛾 不會再有蝙蝠 誰為我傳粉

Arundina graminifolia: No more bees. No more flies. No more bats. Who will pollinate us now?

長莖羊耳蒜道 我會像雄鸚鵡魚那樣奪目 我會像雌八爪魚那樣性感 我會像魔鬼魚群那樣善舞 我永不會尋不到媒人 無論陸地還是海洋

Liparis viridiflora: We will shimmer like a male parrotfish. We will smell like a female octopus. We will dance like a group of manta rays. We will never be devoid of pollinators. Land or sea.

流蘇貝母蘭道 真菌 我們最古老的夥伴 牠們在海裡已有親族 牠們會滋養我們的孩子 一如既往 我們從不孤獨

Coelogyne fimbriata: Fungi are our oldest friends. They already have cousins in the sea. They will nourish our babies, as they always have. We are never alone.