Cross Letters
Kayako Nakashima, Te-Mao Lee
Two-channel video, Letters, Sound installation
2022
The work Cross Letters is a collaborative work between Kayako Nakashima and Lee Te-Mao. The two artists focus on the technique of “cross-writing” and cross their mother tongues (Japanese and Taiwanese Chinese). A crossed letter is a letter in which two separate sentences are superimposed. This was done during the early years of the postal system in the 19th century to save on expensive postage charges, save paper, and protection of privacy.
They usually communicate in English and do not understand each other's language. Therefore, they try to use their imagination to read languages they cannot read due to the Japanese/Taiwanese-Chinese parallels. They pile replies on top of letters they cannot read. From these actions they are trying to reconsider “the hope and impossibility of communication”.
They cannot understand each other perfectly, but they strive to understand each other. Even if their languages are the same, the situation should be the same. In a world of pandemics and war, they are thinking about “communication”.