In a world shaped by constant movement and fragmentation, the question “Who am I?” is no longer easy to answer. Am I Here is a dual exhibition centered around the idea of identity memory. It features the work of two Chinese artists, Matilda Peng and Jiaqi Lyu, who each explore how personal and family memory—through images, archives, and untold histories—can be pieced together to approach a self that has never been fully named or seen. Their works also raise questions about how identity can be formed or recognized when memory is missing, scattered, or in motion.

“Identity memory” is not just about looking back at family history; it is also about actively resisting forgetting and generating meaning from absence. This exhibition presents three bodies of work. In the front room, we show two series: Matilda’s 9 Dialogues and Jiaqi’s Traces of Memories Series. In 9 Dialogues, Matilda constructs a symbolic archive of family memory, layering images and documents across generations to reflect a one-way conversation between herself and those who came before. Jiaqi’s Traces of Memories presents painting series architectural forms and fragmented objects— buildings that no longer exist but live on in her family’s memories. Her work begins at the edges of the map, tracing identity through fragmented oral stories and imagined spaces.

In the back room, we present Matilda’s second project, Dislocation, which explores what it means to find “temporary homes” while constantly on the move. Starting from the idea of voluntary displacement, she reflects on how identity takes shape in transient living spaces—dorms, rentals, and shared rooms— in an age of social and geographic mobility.

Together, these three works form a non-linear path of identity, starting from intergenerational memory, spaces of absence, and the search for a sense of belonging away from home. They remind us that identity is never fixed—it is recalled in silence, touched through place, and rewritten in movement. “Am I here?” becomes not just a question, but a shifting point on the map of self.

SQFT:Space Gallery supporting the students of the MFA Curating course at Goldsmiths.