ART CITIES:Hong Kong-HKFOREWORD16
In its 5th year, the HKFOREWORD series of exhibitions, organized by 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, aims to actively promote and strengthen relations between the new generation of contemporary artists in Hong Kong and local art institutions. HKFOREWORD16, showcases recent works by 13 Hong Kong art graduates, this is the largest group of artists to date that participate in the series.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: 10 Chancery Lane Gallery Archive
The works of the exhibition “HKFOREWORD16” include video, painting, ceramic, photography, mixed media and sculptural installation. The artists participating in the exhibition are recent Bachelor’s and Master’s graduates from The School of Creative Media at City University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Art School, Hong Kong Baptist University, and Savannah College of Art and Design in Hong Kong. Among the artists are: Karen Ka Man plays with shapes and space to depict the atmosphere around her. Influenced by Norman Lundin, Karen was inspired to concentrate on ideas of light, space, negative space and impression, looking to her surroundings for inspiration. Ceci Wing Sze Chan’s exploration into the once bourgeoning and now declining neon sign industry in Hong Kong is a visually impactful and moving documentary on the neon light producer Lau Wan. Ryan Cheng is a ceramic artist living and working in Hong Kong. Taking much of his inspiration from the work of 20th century studio potters, Ryan enjoys the craft of making with clay and uses it to create functional and sculptural forms in a modern setting. Ziki Kit Yin Cheung’s video installation “it is what it is” is comprised of 17 televisions and 8 DVD players, playing 55 videos on loop. The artist aims to rethink the value and meaning of a worthless object; making common objects strange is an easy way to achieve defamiliarisation. Lai Ho is a Hong Kong based artist who works with ceramics, she is interested in investigating the plasticity of clay and the contemporaneity of ceramics in the contemporary art world. Her artwork “Hearts” is a touching and emotive installation of light-filled ceramic hearts suspended from the ceiling. The largest artwork in the exhibition is “A Forgotten Page” by Fung Mang Chung. Winner of the 2014 Australia China Arts Foundation Award, Fung’s work is vibrant and playful. He draws on diary and classroom notes, concepts from his previous creative projects and his own emotions to carve into the wooden panels, intuitively sketching and sculpting on the wood. Karen Ka Lam Hau’s installation “Greeting to myself” features wooden plaques engraved and embellished with geometric and colourful interpretations of Chinese characters, chosen from text “whatsapp” messages between the artist and her contemporaries over a period of one month. Benny Sin is an emerging visual artist based in Hong Kong. Specializing in street photography and conceptual art, Benny is also an enthusiast, who loves to explore life through photography.
Info: 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, G/F, 10 Chancery Lane, SoHo, Central, Hong Kong, Duration: 1/9-22/10/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, http://10chancerylanegallery.com
