[23 August, 2013, Hong Kong] 10 Chancery Lane Gallery invites you to join us at the end of summer for the exhibition opening of eight young Hong Kong artists. The exhibition marks the second edition of the HKFOREWORD series organized by 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, launched last year in order to support the development of contemporary art in Hong Kong. The exhibition will showcase our selection of works by eight young Hong Kong artists, Kanlun CEN, Kate IP, Liz MOK, Dicky MA, Dennis MAN, Eason TSANG, Po TSANG, and Tiana WONG.
Artists in the show are recent graduates from the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Kanlun CEN (b.1990, Shanghai)
Kanlun Cen presents an anamorphic animation work, projecting simultaneous images onto a cylindrical base. While one sequence is clear and in proportion (conveying reality), the other is distorted and reminiscent of a dreamlike state or the hazy inner workings of the mind.
Artist Statement:
“In the installation, the distorted image projected on the tabletop is reflected in the cylindrical mirror, which plays the role of an anamorphic decoder for the stream of consciousness. It enables us to decipher the undercurrent in the mind and thus confront our desire.”
Kate IP (b.1990, Hong Kong)
Kate challenges the absurdity of our public space where everything seems to be designed to prevent one from simply sitting, a space open to everyone on equal terms but full of restrictions. Her photographs document her performances where she ingenuously finds ways to lie down, to sit, to have a meal in the city.
Artist Statement:
“There are people in the city that wish to inhabit its marginal spaces. While the city’s public spaces are owned by everyone, they are full of restrictions. The performances and the photographs that document them depict a way that everyone would be welcomed to lie down and take a rest freely in our city.”
Liz MOK (b.1982, Hong Kong)
Liz Mok explores an inner struggle through her two channel-video Soul.Tide. She uses a rubber band that symbolizes tension, erosion and pain experienced within. Looking at the rubber band, the artist sees the individual's constant struggle for survival in the society.
Artist Statement:
“I got the inspiration for Soul.Tide from a rubber band. While a rubber band is an inconspicuous everyday object, functionally, when stretched it endures a lot of tension, only snapping when over extended. I tied up several rubber bands one by one, then pulled the two ends tightly apart. Instantly it became an object of danger. ”
Dicky MA (b.1989, Hong Kong)
Dicky MA presents stylized and provocative photographs of his grand mother and her friend, challenging the perception of the elderly as quiet individuals going to yum cha. He also captures the perversion of Hong Kong where money, fame and fashion prevail.
Artist Statement:
“I like to capture the disappearing local cultures, themes related to urban renewal and city development. Back in 1997, when the transfer of sovereignty took place, many citizens were pessimistic about the future of Hong Kong that resulted in a migration tide. In recent years, the same trend is occurring in Hong Kong once again. I’d like to portray the locality and uniqueness of Hong Kong through my photographs at this moment of time, as well as to challenge the rules.”
Dennis MAN (b.1988, Hong Kong)
Dennis MAN explores the relationship between the city and its residents where excessive information is lining the streets, each sector corresponding to a specific consumer target group. Having observed the proliferation of illegal advertising, whereby at night after the banks are closed, individuals paste up posters over the windows, capitalizing on yet another city surface to promote goods and services. Dennis intervenes with his own posters, all of which are plain blue, without images or text, a marked contrast to the visuals usually countered.
Artist Statement:
“The city is full of strategically placed consumer information, whereby advertising promotes products and services on just about every surface. In Nathan Road, it’s common to see illegal advertising placed outside banks after closing. A series of actions is performed to question the relationship between our city and us.”
Eason TSANG (b.1986, Hong Kong)
Eason TSANG presents photographs of flowerbeds that he has meticulously re-created to mimic closely the flower patterns of fabrics in fashion garments. Looking carefully at the minor details, the layout and colors give an artificial and almost uncomfortable look to the photographs where he has also added elements like cigarette buts or detritus that could have been lost in a real garden.
Artist Statement:
“I attempt to artificially and realistically replicate the patterns of floral fabrics using real flowers, and record the results with a camera. The original floral fabrics were sourced from fashion brand catalogues or fabric samples that I purchased from the market. I use real flower to re-create the fabric and must modify the colors on some flowers by painting over them, as the artificial colours of the flowers on fabric don’t necessarily exist in nature.”
Po TSANG (b.1991, Hong Kong)
Po Tsang created what she called an ‘abnormal’ seat, a seat that prevents her from sitting and idling. The metal structure she devised as a seat is extremely uncomfortable and constricts her in a tight fitting-space designed to her measurements. Po created this work to be intentionally unsuitable as a base for her body to rest upon, the seat feels foreign and abnormal. It is an object that can’t be used to its normal function. Rather it becomes a disciplinary structure.
Artist Statement:
“A seat is a place for resting your legs. If you sit for too long you can slump and become lazy. However, if the seat were unstable you'd be forced to stand up. The work is designed to be uncomfortable, making it unbearable to sit for prolonged periods. It forces me into action.”
Tiana WONG (b.1979, Hong Kong)
Tiana Wong’s installation Wallflowers explores feelings of invisibility in a friendship whereby one’s undivided love to a friend only meets partial attention. When a relationship is one sided and you are left on the outer edges as merely a bystander. The muteness of the colors and textures enhance the feeling of a silent observer who has resolved to stay patiently in the background rather than withdraw.
Artist Statement:
“'I wish it was only the two of us left in the world. Let’s encounter the world as wallflowers.' The work explores the equivocal jealousy in an overly close friendship and complicated emotions one faces when defending or guarding the other friend, but only ever feeling like a bystander. ”