In 2018, the Art Promotion Office launched a three-year project, titled "Hong Kong House at Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale", in Sakasamaki, Tsunan, Japan, with support of the Tsunan Town Government and in collaboration with the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale Executive Committee and the NPO Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Collaborative Organization. This project serves as a platform for residency, exchange and exhibition. The Hong Kong artists that participated in 2025 were Chris Cheung (h0nh1m) and Sim Shum Kwan Yi, who created an audio-visual art space titled The Whispers of Stone, which intertwined the themes of nature and culture, and provided the audience with an immersive sensory experience of the environment.

In Japan's Echigo-Tsumari, the uniquely shaped water stones of the Shinano River evoked the legend of "The Talking Stone of Weiyu" from China's Spring and Autumn period, inspiring Hong Kong artists Chris Cheung (h0nh1m) and Sim Shum Kwan Yi. The talking stones fuelled their imaginations as they combined ancient legends with contemporary art to create a whimsical space using the water stones as a medium, alongside sound, light and painting, in the exhibition The Whispers of Stone. The artists referenced Morse code to develop a language system for the water stones, giving the stones the ability to speak and even sing through the ink art work The Ode of Stone and the light installation The Shades of Stones, thereby created a duet between Hong Kong and Tsunan, and facilitated interaction with the audience. The other two installations The Book of Stones and The Blessings of Stone drew inspiration from the Japanese garden design concept "Suikinkutsu" and sacred stone, invited the audience to listen closely to the stories the stones had to tell.


The Whispers of Stone by Chris Cheung (h0nh1m) and Sim Shum Kwan Yi

Exhibition period: 19.7 — 9.11.2025
Venue: Hong Kong House
Address: 29 — 4 Miyanohara, Kamigo, Tsunan-machi, Nakauonuma-gun, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Opening hours:
10am — 5pm (July — August)
(Opens daily except Tuesdays & Wednesdays)

10am — 5pm (September)
(Opens on weekends & public holidays)

10am — 4pm (October — November)
(Opens on weekends & public holidays)


The Whispers of Stone Guided Tour and Workshop
Date: 19.7.2025
Time: 1pm — 2pm  

Date: 20.7.2025
Time: 2:15pm — 3:15pm

View and download here:
Exhibition Pamphlet (6.3 MB)