All posts tagged: Ying Kwok

The Moon is Leaving Us 月逝無聲

Published by Aaina Bhargava

Roughly 300 years ago, after studying ancient records of eclipses, British astronomer Edmond Halley conceived of a theory that the moon was in fact physically moving away from the Earth. The moon’s recession was later confirmed in the 1970s by laser beams bouncing off mirrors placed on the moon by American and Soviet astronauts. Caused by drags in ocean tides, which slow the Earth’s spin rate, the accelerated rate compensates for the loss of angular momentum, and the moon gradually pulls away at a rate of 3.78 cm a year – about the rate at which our fingernails grow.  Upon learning this, Hong Kong artist Phoebe Hui’s existing fascination with the celestial body gained newfound urgency. “For some reason, this matters to me, despite the fact it doesn’t affect us during our lifetime,” she says. Initial inspiration struck when the artist’s visited Le Brassus in Switzerland, home to Audemars Piguet’s headquarters, just after she was selected to fulfil the Fifth Audemars Piguet Art Commission, the first to be exhibited in Asia. During a nighttime stroll, an encounter …

Household Gods 「駐家寧神」

Published by Aaina Bhargava

Protests and pandemics have relegated us to the domestic sphere, where we’ve been forced to confront the anxiety and fear induced by the past year’s events. In addition to political, economic and social disruptions of unprecedented proportions, we’re experiencing emotional and psychological upheavals specifically reactive to this point in time. Articulating and reflecting on this complex state of being, Hong Kong artists Shane Aspegren, Nadim Abbas, Tap Chan and Wu Jiaru have come together to stage Household Gods, an exhibition curated by Ying Kwok, on view at Hart Hall in H Queens. Lifted from writer and occultist Aleister Crowley’s early 20th-century play Household Gods, the title of the show explicitly outlines its objective: to question our relationship with the supernatural through our “most intimate setting”, the home.  The four artists conceived of the exhibition while working alongside each other at Hart Haus’ sprawling 10,000 sq ft Hart Social Studio in November 2019, before the advent of Covid-19. Despite their seemingly disparate practices, the artists find common ground in using domestic objects, exploring how they serve as channels to activate the unknown or uncanny. Kwok describes this …

Various artists

Published by Artomity Magazine

Contagious Cities: Far Away Too Close / Tai Kwun Contemporary / Hong Kong / Jan 26 – Apr 21 / Diana d’Arenberg Parmanand / In 2003, the SARS outbreak led to a shutdown of Hong Kong. The virus infected 1,755 people in the city, killing 299. Fear of the epidemic led many, mainly expats, to flee. Those who didn’t leave avoided public spaces. A housing estate was put under quarantine, public transport and public areas were deserted, and schools were closed. At the height of the SARS crisis, iconic Hong Kong actor and singer Leslie Cheung jumped to his death from Central’s Mandarin Oriental hotel, adding to the trauma, gloom and anxiety that were already consuming the city. The crisis impacted Hong Kong physically, psychologically and economically, and like epidemics before, it shaped the city and its habits, policies and people. Contagious Cities: Faraway Too Close at Tai Kwun Contemporary, a group show with works by 10 local and international artists, attempts to explore the psychological and emotional dimensions of disease and contagion. Presented by the Wellcome Trust, a biomedical institution …

Fictioning as Method: Constructing Mythologies and The Other Story

Published by Artomity Magazine

By Christie Lee As Simon O’Sullivan says in Myth-Science and the Fictioning of Reality, the power and function of contemporary art have always been in summoning forth the thing that has “yet-to-come”. In an era of post-truth and alternative facts, when it appears increasingly difficult to sift through deluge of materials on social media and arrive at the truth, and when reality has become stranger than fiction, where does that leave contemporary art? Two recent Hong Kong shows, Constructing Mythologies at Edouard Malingue Gallery and The Other Story at Karin Weber Gallery, might provide some clues. At first glance, the two shows seem to take different approaches – curated by Caroline Ha Thuc, Constructing Mythologies tells of the myths, be it from folklore or constructed by official authorities, that penetrate Southeast Asia, while Ying Kwok’s The Other Story asks that we ignore the fictitious aspect of art for a moment to focus on the process of art-making. But both shows bring to the fore the importance of fictioning, the idea of venturing beyond oneself into the unknown. Upon entering Constructing Mythologies, viewers …

Register for ‘Samson Young: Songs for Disaster Relief World Tour’ talks

Published by Artomity Magazine

Samson Young: Songs for Disaster Relief World Tour is the Hong Kong edition of the exhibition Songs for Disaster Relief conceived by multidisciplinary artist Samson Young for the 57th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2017. Featuring a series of sculptures, objects, videos, sound installations, and site-specific pieces, the exhibition offers a unique audiovisual experience that re-examines the popularity of charity singles from the 1980s. Creatively repurposing and misreading iconic songs made by popular artists for charitable causes, Young draws on seemingly unrelated past and current events to explore the social, political, and philosophical implications of charity singles in a cross-cultural context. The exhibition is accompanied by a series of talks, guided tours, and live performances. Access services can be arranged in advance.   The exhibition is curated by M+ Guest Curator Ying Kwok, with M+ Deputy Director and Chief Curator Doryun Chong as Consulting Curator. Exhibition Period: 9 February to 6 May 2018  Wednesday to Sunday and public holidays 11:00am to 6:00pm M+ Pavilion, West Kowloon Cultural District westkowloon.hk   Talks Where is the Voice – …

Talk on Hong Kong participation at the 57th Venice Biennale, Samson Young: Songs for Disaster Relief

Published by Artomity Magazine

To accompany Hong Kong’s collateral event at the Venice Biennale 2017, Samson Young: Songs for Disaster Relief, M+ and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council are co-hosting a series of talks in Hong Kong. Taking Young’s artistic practice and diverse influences as a starting point, the series offers a deeper understanding of key concepts in contemporary art and provides a wider context for Young’s newly commissioned work in Venice. Songs for Disaster Relief is conceived of as an album unfolding in space to be experienced in person. The series includes four key pieces, each of which tells a new story referencing the cultural and political context of iconic 80s charity songs. Through a deliberate repurposing and creative misreading of such iconic songs, Young presents an exploration of the troubling ideologies and genuine affective qualities that these songs and their aspirations embody. In the first talk in our series, Guest Curator Ying Kwok shares her experience of taking Songs for Disaster Relief from concept to realisation in Venice. She is joined by Anthony Leung Po-shan, one of the contributors to the exhibition …