05/20/2026
Chang Yuchen found the "Kamus Sari"—a pocket dictionary translating between Mandarin Chinese, Malay, and English, first published in 1973—during a residency on Dinawan Island, where dead coral had been piling ashore 🪸
Using obsessively sharpened pencils, Chang draws each porous body, approaching every contour, void, and fracture as a potential unit of meaning. The artist pairs these coral forms with dictionary entries that reflect the daily and political dimensions of life in Malaysia, allowing each to inform the other. For , drawing is an act of communion with another species, and each gesture is an attempt to approximate how coral communicates with the sea and its inhabitants over time.
"Coral Dictionary" is on view in Greater New York through August 17. Get free tickets to experience a performance between Chang and her friend, fellow Greater New York artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed, on Saturday, May 30, at the link in bio.
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"Coral Dictionary (That writer is composing a fantasy story.)", 2025, pencil on paper, 14 x 17 inches. Courtesy of Chang Yuchen and Beijing Commune
"Coral Dictionary (We must think carefully before we speak.)", 2023, pencil on paper, 14 x 17 inches. Courtesy of Chang Yuchen and Beijing Commune
Installation view, Greater New York, on view through April 16 to August 17, 2026. Photo: Kris Graves