Eden Chau-Morrow’s practice explores the relationship between sensory experience and nostalgia: how sights, sounds, smells, and tastes traverse the temporal divide between past and present.
As a London-based artist with mixed Cantonese heritage, Eden’s work engages in a cognitive process of searching, recalling, and sifting through memory, seeking to identify and crystallise what makes childhood memory so meaningful. He places particular emphasis on the gathering of physical objects and the recreation of materials from nostalgic spaces.
Food is a primary theme through which Eden examines cultural exchange: the cooking and serving of food, and the sharing of recipes across generations, are central experiences for the artist. One of Eden’s most vivid childhood memories is of his family dining at, or collecting takeaways from, a family-run Chinese restaurant in Oakland, California. The physical features of these restaurants homogenise over time, blending into a collective visual and cultural landscape that reflects the fragmented nature of nostalgic memory.
For his presentation in The Door, Eden exhibits a wall-based sculpture incorporating an airplane blanket from his most recent trip to Oakland, alongside the floral logo of the restaurant, rendered in plastic and pink sheeting reminiscent of the makeshift signage commonly seen in such establishments. Stacked food trays recall recurring family scenes, while a napkin folded into the shape of a crane references the ornamental table settings used in the restaurant.
By fixing the door half open, Eden intentionally prevents full entry into the space. This creates a sense of distance between the viewer and the work, prompting a mental reconstruction of the experience. The artwork is only viewable from one angle, denying the viewer a complete, walk-around perspective and reinforcing the idea of incomplete recollection.
