The Oku-Noto Triennale is set in Suzu City, the tip of the Noto Peninsula on the northern coast of Japan. This coastal area was a prosperous centre of commerce and cultural exchange during the golden age of maritime trade. The Noto Railway connecting the central to the northern Noto Peninsula exceeded 100km in its heyday. Surrounded by the sea and woods, Suzu has a rich ecosystem of satoyama and satoumi, which is listed as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage. The gift from nature nurtures its traditional industries, namely wine and pottery making, as well as its unique cultures, such as agehama-style salt making, the Kiriko giant lantern parade and hospitality rituals. This humble way of living with nature is inherited from generation to generation. Ever since the urbanisation and depopulation, Suzu has gradually become the most remote area in the Noto Peninsula dotted with abandoned railway tracks and empty platforms.

To highlight Hong Kong's artistic presence at the Oku-Noto Triennale 2020+, the Art Promotion Office launched the Station by the Sea Residence and Exhibition Programme and selected Dylan Kwok as the participating artist to display his works in the former Ukai Station. Dylan's work 😂 conveys his observation and questions about the digital era. The posture of three giant 🙊🙈🙉 sitting inside and outside the defunct railway platform reminds one of the salarymen in old times reading the newspaper and waiting for the next train and the contemporary people bowing heads and gazing at smartphones. This familiar scenario leads audience to reflect on whether the Internet brings more intimate relationships or leads to a more solitary existence than before. He invited audience to create their unique signs of language with the distinctive emoji postcards and alphabet stamps and share what they have experienced in Suzu City with their families and friends in a traditional way. During the exhibition period, the artist mailed a kanji postcard to the former Ukai Station, and posted a picture of the kanji postcard to social media every day, to connect people apart through a mix of virtual and physical communication.