Learning from Unknown Hands and Usernames

Hong Shu-ying

Hong shares her process of working with amateur sources and informal archives through two recent works: 印映 reflections impressions and 迁泉 shifting springs. Both draw from her passed-down knowledge of Mirrored Moon in the Erquan Spring (二泉映月, Erquan Yingyue), the iconic 1950 erhu recording by Abing—and, more crucially, the many reinterpretations and imitations that have proliferated around it over decades.

印映 reflections impressions (2023–) is a mixed media series reflecting on imitation and mimicry as pathways to learning and remembering. By extracting and reworking motifs—hands, moons, and fleeting images of Abing—it traces how these fragments collectively shape a mutable portrait of the song’s legacy. 迁泉 shifting springs (2023–) stitches together ‘slice-by-slice’ screenshots from countless video renderings of the Erquan Spring itself. Though the spring has long since dried up, its imagined presence persists online, forming an evolving visual memory. Together, these works probe how personal and collective acts of documentation on everyday media platforms create intimate yet sprawling archives of cultural transmission.

Drawing from amateur-made and curated YouTube videos, Hong reflects on how fragmentary, often DIY reproductions—ranging from lo-fi television rip-offs to slick music video shoots—reveal a collective imagination around this poorly documented piece of music. Her talk explores what we can learn from collections of user-generated media built from earnest curiosity, creativity, and dedication.