Letter From Guangzhou to Bamako 巴马科广州来信
In 2020， I came across many African kids in front of the Trade Mart in Xiaobei—the streets were their playground, and the woven sacks, tapes and cardboard boxes thrown away by the Trade Mart were their toys. They were "third culture kids" growing up in Xiaobei, Guangzhou, and their parents were "Guangzhou drifters" from Africa engaged in trade.The high cost of travel between China and Africa has made their homeland, Mali, a place that is both familiar and alien to them. These young African kids, when asked where their homeland is, could only answer in vague terms, "I am from my family." These "Guangzhou drifters" families are particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, and the kids are especially confused about their future. Under China's current immigration policy, they are compelled to consider their future home and their state of identity, that often confuses them.
During my time spent with those kids, I encouraged them to express their awareness of the world around them through photography, doodling, sandbox games, etc. We have touched upon topics including self and others, friendship and dreams, the perceptions of their lives in a foreign country, memories of their hometowns and feelings of parting. I gathered their doodles, collaged them, turned them into postcards with messages for the kids, and then I sealed them with Mari stamps.
One day at the end of the summer of 2022, I suddenly learned that the following day Damei and Xiaomei's family would be going back to Bamako, so I went to say goodbye to them. I offered Damei and Xiaomei a set of postcards before we parted ways, and they told me that they wish to meet again in the future.
After the family left, I continued to stroll around the vicinity of the Tianxiu building and the Tianxiu pool, watching the planes flying over as if nothing had changed. Only one thing has changed, those kids who made wishes when planes flew by were now no longer here.
2020年我在小北的商贸城门口结识了许多非洲孩子——街头巷尾是他们的游乐场，商贸城弃置的编织袋、胶带、纸箱就是他们的玩具。这些孩子是生长在广州小北的 “第三文化” 儿童，父母是来自非洲从事贸易的 “广漂族”。
往返中国和非洲的高昂交通成本，使得祖国马里对于他们变成了一个熟悉又阳生的地名。年纪尚小的非洲小孩，被问及家乡在哪里时，也只能言辞含糊地回答：“我是我们家的人。”广漂非洲人家庭在疫情中格外脆弱，而这些孩子对于自己的未来更加迷茫。在中国现行的移民政策之下，他们不得不思考自己未来的归宿，以及处在夹缝中的身份认同状态。
在与孩子们的相处中，我引导他们通过摄影、涂鸦、沙盘游戏等方式，表达对于周遭环境的感知：自我与他者、友谊与梦想、对旅居生活的感知、对故乡的记忆、对离别的感受。在收集他们的涂鸦后，我进行拼贴，制作成明信片，写上给孩子们的寄语，并贴上马里邮票。
在2022年夏天结尾的一天，我突然得知大美小美一家将于第二天返回巴马科，我前往她们家送行。离别之际我将一套明信片送给大美和小美，小美向我许下重逢的心愿。
她们一家离开后，我依然会去天秀大厦闲逛，坐在天秀泳池旁边，看到有飞机飞过天秀大厦上空，一切如旧。只是缺少了那些对着飞机许愿的孩子们。
115*165mm，Comprehensive materials