Exile to the Red Planet (2022)

Exile to the Red Planet is the selected project of the New Light XIII program by Lumenvisum, Hong Kong. And it is Caleb’s first solo exhibition.

Press release on Lumenvisum’s website

Artist Statement

I photograph a majestic Banyan tree near my home. It is standing on a slope, igniting no excitement yet dutifully serving the neighbourhood. The Owner’s Committee tries to dismantle it to avoid future maintenance. Unsurprisingly, when it comes to financing, the Committee receives support from my neighbours, but me.

I feel sorry for the healthy 40 years old Banyan tree and what happens is unfortunate and unfair. I have a strong impulse to record the very last days of it, in hope of creating visual records of our loss in the future. In addition to photographing the tree, I contacted the Conservancy Association in Hong Kong. An associate responds immediately and conducts a private assessment: the tree looks healthy and shouldn’t be removed.

Researching stories of stonewall trees and Banyan trees in Hong Kong, I began to photograph Banyan wall trees throughout the city. It’s an ongoing process. As I acknowledge their histories and relationship with the land, I fall in love with their expressive physical forms. I was moved. Every Hongkonger should be.

When I saw NASA’s footage of the Perseverance rover landing on Mars, I decided to relocate the Banyan tree to the captivating planet, giving it a second life in my fiction.