In Every Bite of the Emperor

In Every Bite of the Emperor is a long-term art project by Youngsook Choi that explores ecological grief - how we grieve in our relationship with environments we live in and acknowledge the many impacts of damage to them.

The project weaves together knowledge of environments and experiences of the destruction of these, across communities in Malaysia, South Korea, the UK and Vietnam.

It asks how do we - through a process of grieving, gathering, storytelling, collective healing, and solidarity - imagine new ways to recover our lost connections and move towards a shared future?

Since 2022 we have been developing our relationships with sites which have experienced or are undergoing the impacts of industrial intervention, climate shift and species loss, as well as with the people who are in relation with these places and working to document, witness and challenge these impacts.

In Malaysia, we have been working since 2023 with community arts organisation Gerimis and through them the communities of Kampung Barreh Barrah and Kampung Rakoh from whom we have learnt about traditional weaving practices, Semai knowledge of ecological relations informed by animist traditions, and Sewang ritual healing practices. Our field research together with Gerimis has also included visiting historical tin mining and contemporary quartz mining sites in Perak.

In St Helens, we have been working since 2023 with Chrysalis Centre for Change and focusing on land at Colliers Moss North, previously the site of Bold Colliers before being regenerated as park and woodland, cared for by The Mersey Forest. Together we have been developing a long-term witnessing of a patch of land on the site, understanding how our own individual experiences of loss and grief might also be understood collectively and through the multispecies experience of the ever changing landscape of Colliers Moss. What might listening and observing this site teach us about grieving?

In 2025 we began a new relationship with Á Space, an independent space for experimental art practice based in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a next phase of work focused on marine and coastal areas. Supported by the British Council’s Connections Through Culture grant programme, we spent research and production time together to explore the concept of the memorial within the frame of ecological loss.

You can dig deeper into this project through a series of resources below, including publications In Every Bite of the Emperor Malaysia and A Guide to Living Well With All Beings, and shared presentation between Youngsook Choi and Wen Di Sia from our 2023 iteration of With For About.

In Every Bite of the Emperor continues Youngsook’s exploration of grief as a site for solidarity and ritual-making which emerged through her previous project Not This Future.

Through this project and her practice, Youngsook challenges the privilege of Western thought and reimagines humans’ relationship with the natural world, offering us a decolonial and multi-species approach.

Youngsook will share their early research so far at With For About: Care and the Commons in conversation with Gerimis founder Wendi Sia.