Wei Weng

Here are some preparation shots from my residency in Shunde Daliang, still trying to figure things out, feeling grateful for the challenge. I'm working on my first short film, shooting starts on May 12th - May 15th. If you are in Shunde, come and be part of this activation. DM me for address.

So happy to announce The Eggshell Repair Project won a design prize! congratulations to my collaborator @zapzatartbook ! Also taking this moment to share photos from The Eggshell Repair Project workshop @wujinbeijing this April. Let's break some eggs and tap into our inner balance! Want to see The Eggshell Repair Project come to a place near you? DM @halcyon2wei #eggshell #eggshellrepair #innerbalance #weiweng #workshoppopup #popup #contemporaryart

last week to see The Museum of Lost Heirs @void_melbourne Wei Weng @halcyon2wei The Museum of Lost Heirs 2023-2026 Lost Heirs are people open to connecting with inheritance beyond their known family, clan, or tribe — whether unclaimed objects, genetic traits, traditional skills, or stories carried by migration. The Museum of Lost Heirs is an ongoing project by Chinese artist Wei Weng. It originated as The Heir Hunter Office (2024) during a residency in Kyoto, where gallery visitors were invited to “claim” objects left behind by Japan-born individuals who had settled and passed away in the United Kingdom. For this Australian debut at VOID_Melbourne, inheritance narratives are translated into the immigrant languages spoken across Victoria. The artist uses AI chatbots to calibrate the emotional tenor of an unreachable past for contemporary audiences— transforming bureaucratic loss into intimate encounter. The work connects present and future generations to the unclaimed stories left along the ambitious paths of migration. #urushilacquer #lacquer #photography #immigrantlanguages #artinstallation #melbourneart #chineseartist #themuseumoflostheirs #tallpoppies

Thank you for coming to the tasting event today! Food and art always bring out the best of people — and today was no exception. It was a joy to share this space, these works, and these flavors with each of you. selected pastries courtesy of @urbanstead.au We're honored that The Museum of Lost Heirs @void_melbourne has been featured in Artforum's art guide — a recognition that means so much to us as we continue to explore themes of migration, memory, and inheritance through this series of photo fiction and lacquer installation. The exhibition is open to all visitors until March 28th. If you haven't had the chance to visit yet, we'd love to see you before it closes — bring someone you love. #TheMuseumOfLostHeirs #悬嗣博物馆 #VOIDMelbourne #MelbourneArt #Artforum #ContemporaryArt #MigrationAndMemory #OpenNow #lacquer #photography #installation

Welcome to The Museum of Lost Heirs Preserving the self is a deeply personal undertaking — and each of us finds a different balance between inner life and outward ambition. Ambition can disturb that balance. Yet without it, the cultural knowledge carried by individuals across borders may simply disappear — lost in transit, unwitnessed, unnamed. Bottled Up Ambition begins with plastic bottles, bent and distorted out of their original form: a material record of the pressure ambition places on those who carry it far from home. On this red disc, layers of urushi lacquer build toward a final surface of polished, tooth-like forms — poised, and ready to bite. The beauty is not passive. It has an edge. Artwork Wei Weng Bottled Up Ambition (Red) 2026 30cm x 30cm x 8cm Urushi lacquer, plastic bottles, wood panel The Museum of Lost Heirs @halcyon2wei @VOID_Melbourne March 5th-28th 2026 190 Bourke St, Melbourne 3000 [email protected]

Welcome to The Museum of Lost Heirs For several years, I have worked with eggshell repair as a central concept — the broken made whole, the fractured rendered beautiful. For this installation, poppy flowers are formed from wooden discs and shattered eggshells: gathered, reassembled, and finished in layers of urushi lacquer. Each piece carries the history of its breaking. The work presents two fates side by side. On the left, tall poppies stand in artificial poise — upright, composed, performing their survival. On the right, those same poppies have already been cut down, now preserved as wall decoration: trophies of a quiet, social violence. (Artwork left) Wei Weng Tall Poppies Syndrom 2026 130cm x 120cm x 50cm Urushi lacquer, eggshells, wood (Artwork right) Wei Weng Tall Poppies Go Home 2026 160cm x 10cm x 8cm Urushi lacquer, eggshell, chain, wood The Museum of Lost Heirs @halcyon2wei @VOID_Melbourne March 5th-28th 2026 190 Bourke St, Melbourne 3000 [email protected] 欢迎来到《悬嗣博物馆》 移民之路，如同穿越迷宫——寻找工作，寻找爱，寻找归属。 通过《悬嗣博物馆》我向这份无声的坚韧致敬。 通过影像、物件与文字，我希望建立一种温柔而有质感的连接——触动那些曾经等待、流离、或疑惑自己是否终将回家的人心底最深处的情感。 初抵澳大利亚时，我第一次接触到"高罂粟综合症"这一概念：一种将敢于出众者打压下去的文化倾向。对移民而言，野心始终是一把双刃剑。伸手，便是冒险。于是，高罂粟与迷宫并肩而立——同一困境的两种形态，一个出自自然，一个出自人为。 多年来，我以蛋壳修复作为核心概念进行创作——将破碎化为完整，使裂痕成就美丽。 在这件装置作品中，罂粟花由木片与碎蛋壳构成：经由收集、重组，再以层层漆涂覆而成。每一件作品都承载着破碎的历史。 作品并置呈现两种命运。左侧，高挑的罂粟以一种人为的姿态矗立——直立、端庄，演绎着各自的生存之道。右侧，同样的罂粟已然凋零，如今以壁饰的形式被保存下来：成为一场无声社会暴力的战利品。

Welcome to The Museum of Lost Heirs In migration, we navigate a maze — searching for work, for love, for belonging. The Museum of Lost Heirs honours this quiet resilience. Through image, object, and message, I hope to create a gentle, tactile connection — one that stirs something deep within those who have waited, wandered, or wondered if they were ever coming home. When I arrived in Australia, I encountered the idea of Tall Poppy Syndrome for the first time: the cultural tendency to cut down those who dare to rise. For immigrants, ambition is always a double-edged thing. To reach is to risk. And so the tall poppy found its place beside the labyrinth — two forms of the same trap, one natural, one man-made. (Artwork Right) Wei Weng Labyrinth 2025 120cm x 80cm Digital print on cotton rag paper, archival di-bond backing (Artwork Left) Wei Weng Tall Poppies Go Home 2026 160cm x 10cm x 8cm Urushi lacquer, eggshell, chain, wood The Museum of Lost Heirs @halcyon2wei @VOID_Melbourne March 5th-28th 2026 190 Bourke St, Melbourne 3000 [email protected] 欢迎来到 《悬嗣博物馆》 移民之路，如同穿越迷宫——寻找工作，寻找爱，寻找归属。 《悬嗣博物馆》向这份无声的坚韧致敬。通过影像、物件与文字，我希望建立一种温柔而有质感的连接——触动那些曾经等待、流离、或疑惑自己是否终将回家的人心底最深处的情感。 初抵澳大利亚时，我第一次接触到"高罂粟综合症"这一概念：一种将敢于出众者打压下去的文化倾向。对移民而言，野心始终是一把双刃剑。伸手，便是冒险。于是，高罂粟与迷宫并肩而立——同一困境的两种形态，一个出自自然，一个出自人为。

sneak peak of my upcoming show Wei Weng Museum of Lost Heirs @VOID_Melbourne March 5th - 28th (Left) Tall Poppies Go Home 2026 urushi lacquer, eggshell, wood, chain (Right) Labyrinth 2025 digital print on cotton rag paper, archival dibond

honor that my book Water Refuge is included as part of #atlasaquae hosted by @bibliotecabernardini and organized by @osservatoriomobilenordest .

Very excited for my book Water Refuge to be included in the Atlas Aquæ, which brings together 68 volumes of contemporary photographic publishing. Atlas Aquæ Landscapes and Geographies in Contemporary Photographic Publishing Biblioteca Bernardini Piazzetta Carducci, Lecce 13 December 2025 – 10 January 2026 The exhibition Atlas Aquæ, which brings together 68 volumes of contemporary photographic publishing, finds a new display in Lecce. In the prestigious reading room of the Biblioteca Bernardini, each book becomes a waypoint in an open and fluid visual atlas where images float, intertwine, and create new connections, transforming the exhibition into a true laboratory of visual narratives about water. On the occasion of the exhibition opening, the book Atlas Aquæ, Skinnerboox, Jesi 2025—edited by Stefania Rössl and Massimo Sordi (OMNE) —will be presented in preview. Exhibition curated by Stefania Rössl, Massimo Sordi, Samuele Vincenti A project by OMNE – Osservatorio Mobile Nord Est Supported by European Union – NextGenerationEU “National Biodiversity Future Center” (NBFC) National Biodiversity Center

Excited to be part of a stellar group show BLACK.2 @VOID_Melbourne Opening event Melbourne Nov. 15th 2025 Wei Weng Heartfelt Void Urushi lacquer, metal chain, wood, eggshells, paper 2025 photo credit: Andrew Curtis Photography VOID_Melbourne 190 Bourke St 2nd Floor Melbourne 3000 #urushilacquer #melbourneart #blacklacquer #heart #void #chineseartist

Thrilled to announce my participation in Shenzhen OPEN M Art Fair this November, hosted by @abc_artbookinchina ! ✨ I’ll be presenting two interconnected bodies of work: 🥚 The Eggshell Repair Project - a tactile, meditative kit developed during my residency at He Xiangning Museum, inviting users to pause, repair, and reconnect despite living in a fast-scrolling world. 2. AMBITION A site-specific lacquer installation exploring human appetite for sensory thrill-seeking and our own fragility. Join me at Booth A13 to experience the art in person! OPEN M ART FAIR LOCATION: G&G创意社区 深圳市南山区荔园路9号 I’m also excited to host two in-person workshops at He Xiangning Museum on Nov 15 & 16. Follow the Museum’s WeChat for full details and registration! #WeiWengStudio #EggshellRepairProject #OPENMArtFair #ShenzhenArt #Shekou #Contemporarylacquer #lacquerinstallation 今年十一月，我将参展由 @abc_artbookinchina 主办的深圳OPEN M艺术博览会！展会开放时间：11月13日-11月16日 本次将展出两个彼此关联的艺术系列： 1. 🥚 《蛋壳修复计划》
一件在何香凝美术馆驻留期间孕育的触觉冥想工具包。在这个快速刷屏的时代，邀请您通过修复的仪式，暂停片刻，与自我重新连接。 2. 《野心》 大漆摄影装置作品，为OPEN M特定场域制作，探讨人们对感官刺激的深层欲望以及自我的脆弱。 欢迎来 A13 展位 亲身体验! OPEN M ART FAIR LOCATION: G&G创意社区 深圳市南山区荔园路9号 此外，我很荣幸将在 11月15日与11月16日，携手深圳何香凝美术馆亲自主持两场线下工作坊。敬请关注何香凝美术馆官方微信，获取工作坊详情与报名信息！ #翁唯工作室 #蛋壳修复计划 #OPENM #深圳艺术 #当代漆器摄影装置 #蛇口