M! Editorial note (2026-10-04) In Memory of Wu Wing Yee

 In Memory of Wu Wing Yee


On September 28, I received the sad news from Henrik of Wing’s passing. We have lost a good friend and an extraordinary artist.

Wu Wing Yee (January 17, 1964–September 28, 2026) and I knew each other personally in Toronto. By the time she was more active in Hong Kong, we had already left. In the early 2000s, Wing and Henrik were in Toronto, trying to see whether the city might be a suitable place for them to live. Wing had already been approved for residency, and they rented an apartment close to us. The four of us would often get together and spend good times together.

In the end, they decided to return to Asia and lived in Dali (大理) for a number of years.

In 2006, our gallery moved to 50 Gladstone Avenue. For the inaugural exhibition, DOUBLE SIX — six occurring dialogue, a much larger-scale exhibition involving twelve artists, we included Henrik Drescher. The following year, in 2007, we presented a two-person exhibition of Wu Wing Yee and Henrik Drescher (Faster Than Thought, August 28-September 23, 2007), occupying all four of the large exhibition spaces on the ground and second floors.

In the fall of 2018, we made the final decision to cease operating the gallery and to focus instead on the archive of works and projects accumulated over the preceding decades. We began developing an online platform through which the archival materials could be gathered and made accessible. DOUBLE DOUBLE, a web-based weekly publication, was started for this purpose.

After three years of practice, in 2022 we decided to move toward a more substantial format, making use of print-on-demand. The new DOUBLE DOUBLE became a 200-page monthly publication in book form. Alongside new and archival work by Holly and me, each issue also featured a guest artist.

The July 2022 issue featured Wu Wing Yee. By then, Wing and Henrik had been living in Brooklyn, New York, since 2016. The series published in DOUBLE DOUBLE was subtitled by Wing, “my daily life in New York, metaphysical & the physical (2016–2021).” She told me that it was an account of her creative life there, the seven years she spent in New York. In 2022, they relocated to Portugal.

In this issue of M!, we reprint this special series from DOUBLE DOUBLE, in memory of Wu Wing Yee, as part of the archival material now opened to public viewing.

As I write this editorial note, I have received another piece of sad news: my third brother has just passed away.

2026 has been a year of loss.