Mankind have entered a new phase of life under the epidemic and face drastic changes in the wake of the virus outbreak. Under such unfavourable circumstances, Contemporary by Angela Li specially presents “another day”. Curated by Leung Shiu Kee Eric, this joint exhibition features 11 local young artists whose artistic creations respond to the sudden changes in their lives and explore different states of mind under unexpected situations. Artworks in this exhibition encompass a broad range of traditional and experimental media, including drawings, ceramics, photography, video, multi-media and mechanic installations. Participating artists include Chan Wai Lap, Choy Kam Ming Zac, Fung Kuen Suet Michelle, Hung Keung, Lau Siu Chung Lonely, Lung Yuet Ching Joyce, Siu Wai Hang, Tse Chun Sing, Tom Chung Man, Tung Wing Hong and Wong Pak Hang Samson. “another day” is on view from July 9 to August 8.
Day-to-day life has been a fundamental source of inspiration for artists. With the government imposing social distancing laws, hiking became one of the most popular outdoor activities among Hongkongers. The studio of artist Lonely Lau Siu Chung is right by Garden Hill, and this small hilltop was suddenly packed with hikers during the epidemic. This unusual scene of packed crowds became Lau’s inspiration to create his oil painting The Hiking Fever. A conceptual work entitled Triunity by Tom Chung Man carries a religious connotation in reference to the ideology of the Holy Trinity. He recreated a three-layer face mask by painting three layers of chiffon. The creative process acted as a ritual through which the artist attempts to make sense of the human suffering in this whole epidemic experience.
Contemporary Life Is Rubbish is a video installation by Wong Pak Hang Samson. The artist captures little things in his daily life through his lens, presenting a stream of helpless consciousness through five small screens. The animation titled From Rags to Riches? Polluta Fulfills your Wishes by Fung Kuen Suet Michelle brings audiences to her imaginative utopia in which ‘time’ does not exist and artists can live without stress and create freely.
Narrating sudden changes from another perspective, Siu Wai Hang’s latest photography series captures the rebirth of Ma On Shan after a fire early this year. The artist conveys the contrast between the forest disappearing in a flash and beginning all over again through the remnant branches and young leaves. Choy Kam Ming Zac puts together a tape-sealed vinyl record and a record player in his electronic piece Can’t Play, metaphorically revealing the shift in freedom of expression across different eras. Tung Wing Hong’s installation No Place for Useless Men is an old suitcase randomly moving on the floor, symbolising life drifting down an unknown track. Tse Chun Sing transforms a spring scale into a clock in his three-dimensional work titled What’s the Weight Now?, which explores the correlation between ‘time’ and ‘weight’. The artist attempts to compare the ‘weight’ of the current moment to the ‘weight’ of the past, with the result being an abstract measurement of the change in ideas.