Installation: The Cattle Depot was turned into a big rose garden with 1,000 roses planted in the two former troughs with chocolate. On every rose, a paper ribbon with ‘I love you’ of different version in more than 170 languages was tied. During the 4 days of the book fair, passers-by strolled alone the rows of roses and chocolate which had grown or decayed and filled the space with variable scents of love.

 

Performance: In the two-hour durational performance, I myself and some passers-by was invited to repeat a fragment of computer-generated French-ascented speech saying romanisation of “I love you” in different languages as shown on the ribbon on the roses and played by a loud-speaker. Having learnt the language or not, audience could plant the blooming roses on the beds of chocolate and make their statement of “love” in a plethora of cliché-ridden simulacrums.