南華早報SCMP R09 | The Review 2007-07-01

It takes two: finding a dialogue in unison

It was a big question a decade ago. Will local artists enjoy the same degree of freedom after the handover? Today, a major independent art exhibition featuring 23 veteran and up-and-coming visual artists will open to show that freedom of expression is alive and kicking and to challenge the notion of "subversion".

Organised by 1a Space and the Asia Art Archive (AAA), Talkover/Handover - Dialogues on Hong Kong Art 10 Years after 1997 is among a plethora of handover-themed shows, including one at the Artist Commune across the Cattle Depot compound - although this is probably the weightiest.

Jointly curated by Selina Ho Chui-fun and AAA's Law Nga-wing (Wen Yau), participating artists include Kurt Chan Yuk-keung, Ellen Pau, Leung Chi-wo, Stanley Wong Ping-pui, Kwok Mang-ho, Leung Mee-ping, Kith Tsang Tak-ping, Phoebe Man Ching-ying, Anthony Leung Po-shan, So Hing-keung, Kum Chi-keung, Luke Ching Chin-wai, Lam Wai-kit, Jeff Leung Chin-fung and Gum Cheng Yee-man. They have been asked to work in pairs, to complement or challenge each other's work.

"My partner, Tse Yim-on, likes to use the internet to express his ideas," says Chan. "While the traditional mass media has a lot of limitations, the alternative media can be very flexible and effective. They're challenging the establishment, like waging a guerilla war.
"I will put a toy gun [in the installation] and create a situation: a surrendered sniper who still shoots. The work is not logical but resembles the situation after the handover. Hong Kong has gone back to China but still fights."

Ching chooses a more pacifying tool, a fire extinguisher, to illustrate his view: "I've never fought in my life. I hope the viewers can try to use the fire extinguisher at the venue and experience the action."

How much these works reflect the historical, social and political significance of the moment is yet to be seen. According to Ho, the main objective of the exhibition is to create a critical dialogue between the artists. "I know there will be a lot of exhibitions," says the former manager of 1a Space. "But I'm confident that there will be quality works in this show because the artists have to go through a process of working with a partner. The theme is about dialogue. Artists active during 1997 were approached; of course, whether it works depends on their chemistry."

The independent curator says she applied for government funding this year, hoping the show would balance its propaganda-heavy official celebration activities, but was turned down. "The voices of the people should be there," Ho says. She subsequently sought financial aide from the Kowloon City District Council and secured HK$24,000.

Before the exhibition, the artists were interviewed by AAA researcher Law. "The artists talked about how they're 'inspired' by their partners," she says. "The interviews were videotaped and will be broadcast at the exhibition. There are a lot of art events in Hong Kong but they're not well documented."

In preparation for Talkover/Handover, a talk was held last month to identify factors that have affected the Hong Kong art scene in the past decade. Artists compared the tolerance levels in Hong Kong and on the mainland, and social issues such as the demolition of the Star Ferry Pier.
The resulting exhibition - made up mainly of installations - scrutinises the roles of the artists after the handover with items and objects collected, not created, by artists. Kith Tsang, for example, will present heavy iron cases, demonstration banners and a piece by Jaspar Lau Kin-wah, his partner for this project. The work is named Shenghuo Zhongxiang, which in Chinese means heavy boxes in daily lives. Zhongxiang is also a pun, meaning "severely injured".
"Because of my upbringing in Hong Kong, I feel secure in a small space," says Tsang. "I want to have a room in the venue for my exhibits. My work is always political."

Another pair who interact with each other's work is the 60-year-old Kwok, better known as the Frog King, and Chen Shisen. "Frog King likes to play jokes with others' artwork and I'll use his strategy to 'attack' his work," says Chen. "He writes very good Chinese calligraphy with brushes: I'll put up, next to his calligraphy, words produced by photocopy. Some key words in his writings will be taken out, thus turning the writings into nonsense."

Artist Michelle Lee Ho-wing's work with photographer So Hing-keung will be more thoughtful than playful. "The celebrations are something for the government," she says. "Yes, people go to see the fireworks because there is a holiday. But I can feel the anxiety of people. There are still a lot of uncertainties."

In response to this sentiment, Lee is presenting 10 books she has created. She says the content comes from 10 books that were published over the past 10 years, including Someone has Disappeared by Japanese writer Shizuko Natsuki.

"It made me think of the people leaving before 1997," she says. "Another book called A Generation Divided by Rebecca Klatch, an American writer, made me think of those born before and after 1997. I cut words from them, created new contents. One book is bilingual and the others in Chinese."

Talkover/Handover - Dialogues on Hong Kong Art 10 Years after 1997. Today to Jul 29. 1a space, Unit 14, Cattle Depot Artist Village, 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, To Kwa Wan. Tue-Sun, 2pm to 8pm (closed Mon and public holidays). Inquiries: 2529 0087


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