The messengers was exhibited as part of Kiang Malingue’s first solo show of Samson Young’s work at the gallery’s Hong Kong space. The exhibition was titled Music for selective hearing, or assisted living, and The messengers formed part of an exhibition that brought distinct groupings of the artist’s works together. Combined this body of work, in divergent ways, explored the fabric of the socio-political by examining the history and contemporary conditions of sound and music. The messengers stand as human-proportioned, AV equipped totems, their forms physically rendered through a combination of repurposed mic stands and 3d-printed PLA. The adapted armature housing small video screens with painted surfaces gives a cyberpunk feeling to an ancient / techno aesthetic, which itself draws reference from mythical birds. Using custom software, the screens emit bird songs and chirping while simultaneously delivering ancient legal texts of Chinese, Japanese and Egyptian origins. First exhibited on the grounds of the Takano Shrine, Kyoto in 2022, these video sculptures include English translations of K'ang Hsi’s Sacred Edicts, Prince Shotoku’s jūshichijō kenpō, and the Precepts of Ptahhotep, and in combination with their form, and sonic emissions, they inject humour and absurdity into legal parlance.