10 Chancery Lane Gallery – HKFOREWORD18

Opening Reception:
HKFOREWORD18: Thursday, August 16, 2018 6:30-8:30pm

Exhibition Period:
HKFOREWORD18: August 16 – September 1, 2018

(AUGUST 2018) HONG KONG –
10 Chancery Lane Gallery is proud to present HKFOREWORD18, an annual exhibition showcasing recent works by 9 Hong Kong art graduates. Now in its seventh year, the HKFOREWORD series, 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 universities offering art degree programs. The works include video, painting, photography, mixed media and sculptural installation. Artists in the show are recent Bachelor’s and Master’s graduates from City University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Art School and Hong Kong Baptist University.

 

AU MAN KIT (b. 1995)
Department of Fine Arts, Hong Kong Art School & RMIT University

Au Man Kit uses different media such as painting, photography, installation and video in his artworks. Having a background in a family-run Chinese restaurant, Au’s artworks are influenced by the circadian of the restaurant environment in Hong Kong. Au believes that daily life is the subliminal force that drive his thoughts, emotions and most importantly, his artistic practice. Au hopes to rediscover himself and express the conflicts in his life through his artworks. of art.

Artist statement:
“I believe that the banality in our lives affects our thoughts. Similarly, every thought in reality impacts an imaginative young man.” As an artist and the son of a restaurateur, the expectations of opposing identities subconsciously affected my daily thoughts, emotions and to a larger extent, my artistic gesture. Creating art and running a restaurant seems discrete, but the fusion of the two identities have
made my current self possible.

The series of artwork “Enthrone” is about a young “loafer” on learning to be a successful person. The young master shows self doubt and helplessness as he steps into society for the first time through the interactions between space, time and different individuals. The ignorance and cynicism of bystanders serve as a foil to the altruism of the young master in search for happiness through his “hobby”. The installation is the crown of “enthrone”. Hence, allowing the “daydreamer” to reflect on one’s ideology and reality.

 

CHAN KA WAI WINNIE (b.1995)
Academy of Visual Art, Hong Kong Baptist University

Chan Ka Wai Winnie started to explore ink after her first lesson of Chinese painting course and became fascinated by the possibilities of ink. Chan experimented many different ways of ink use including ink wash on Xuan paper and employing non-traditional painting materials with ink. The technique of “splashed ink” intrigued Chan the most and she believes splashed ink is an accidental effect through a process of improvisation.

Artist Statement:
The splashed ink technique has no rule, but the uncertainty embedded in it features the spontaneity of chance, a certain naturalness, as well as, unpredictability. Due to these qualities, I am able to look for new possibilities in my painting in a bid to explore new expressions for abstract art. Through the crashing and flowing of the ink and water, my work features an abstract quality of “instability”, revealing kind of figurative forms. I am fascinated by this quality because it allows my paintings to oscillate between abstraction and figuration.

 

CINDY (b.1995)
Academy of Visual Art, Hong Kong Baptist University

Cindy is a dedicated painter that uses her artworks to express her state of mind. She invites audiences to peek into her imaginary world; her artworks are subjective to viewer’s interpretation. Cindy’s paintings are her own Alice’s Wonderland luring us to explore the fantasies within.

Artist Statement:
This is an imaginary picture of what the world would be like when I am strolling in the evening time at 6 p.m. There is not a clear message that I want to tell my viewers through these paintings, but it is rather a vision I would like to show. I want these paintings to be big enough that when people step closer all they can see is one part of my paintings. I want viewers to feel involved in these scenes allowing the paintings to function as a gateway to dreams. They attempt to get beyond, to be mythic in some way. I try to paint about everything I am interested in things I read, see, imagine, think about and fantasize about. Although I use photographs as reference, I don’t want to replicate them, rather create a dreamscape for viewers to get in.

 

JOSEPH LEUNG MONG SUM (b. 1995)
Department of Fine Arts, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Joseph Leung Mong Sum is interested in exploring human sentiment in a contemporary context. Leung is currently producing research in the form of photo poetry and conceptual photography. He was recently selected as one of the finalists of the WMA Masters Photographic Awards 2017/18 and had previously been awarded the “Julian Lee Asia One photographic Awards 2016/17” and chosen as a finalist in the “First Smash 4 Art Project”.

Artist Statement:
“Eventually, Obsolete “is a body of work that surrounds an old CRT monitor manufactured in the year of 2000. The outdated CRT monitor was first dissected, with its internal parts and elements taken out. The elements of the monitor were then subsequently juxtaposed with various parts of the human body with a matching nature, creating individual pieces of works that stand as hybrids between humanity and technology. Through this body of work, I hope to provide a new perspective on how we should understand technology and ourselves under the zeitgeist of the digital era.

 

LI TAK YUNG DORIS (b. 1995)
Academy of Visual Art, Hong Kong Baptist University

Li Tak Yung Doris creates her artworks in ceramic, glass, mixed media and many more. Li’s works are inspired by the relationship between human being and the world. Li explores the possibilities of clay and tries to seek an absolute balance between changing and keeping the characteristic of the clay. In her works “Needlework”, Li added clay to the Chinese needlework threads to create a new form of ceramic. Li won Sun Museum Award in Hong Kong in 2018.

Artist Statement:
Creation is my thinking and questioning towards daily life. My creations are inspired by the relationships that relate to people. Starting from the very beginning of our life, we have long established relationships with the rest of the world. Among the various relationships, I wonder how they affect each other and draw each other. In between, I wonder if there is an absolute balance or a perfect harmony. Or, will there always be an unavoidable existence of contradictions? I like to use clay as medium in my creation since clay always responds directly to my hands. The plasticity and unpredictable outcomes of clay can let unlimited possibilities happen. Also, clay can always cooperate with other materials undoubtedly. As clay can be mixed with other substances, it is so susceptible to external influences and changing its essence easily. But at the same time, it could remain some characteristics of itself. The property of clay is just so familiar to human beings. Everything we do is so easily affected by our surroundings. I use clay as a metaphor for human beings.

 

PANG ON ON (b. 1995 )
Academy of Visual Art, Hong Kong Baptist University

Pang On On creates artworks in the form of glass blowing, Chinese painting, mixed media and installations. Pang uses dust to create a tower that is both elusive and luring. The transitory aspect of her work explores the subject of “time” as it is invisible yet important in everyone’s life. Pang transforms this invisible element in our lives into a visual object that reflects “time” bringing us into the moment of our invisible surroundings.

Artist Statement:
Dust is an embodiment of time. It appears and gathers at a place as time goes by. Through observing it, one is witnessing the passage of time and how much time has elapsed. Time is invisible while dust is visible. I use dust to visualise time through creating numerous small cubes of dust. The accumulation of the dust squares alludes to the continuous passage of time. I try to make the invisible visible by creating volume formed in space over time.

 

RAY MOK & RED WONG (b.1995 & b.1994)
School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

Ray Mok and Red Wong are both born and raised in Hong Kong. Mok and Wong practice photography and animation. They believe there are many other perspectives to show the beauty of Hong Kong. Mok and Wong use drone footages and animation to create a video installation that portrays not only the stereotype of the Hong Kong landscape but also the symmetric and surrealistic images that show us the hidden parts of the “Pearl of the Orient”.

Artist Statement:
We use our eyes to discover the beauty of Hong Kong. The music video “Iam Twisq” takes Hong Kong’s concrete jungle to re-create an urban playground by animating shapes, forms and colors extracted from drone footages.

 

WANG RUONAN (b. 1993)
School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

Wang Ruonan studied creative media and she works with abstract videos and photography. This series of photographs recreates a sentimental still life that Wang uses to express a delicate sensibility of the heart. The photographic works are almost painterly evoking emotions of longing through her poignant chronicle. Wang is now exploring more possibilities of this visual narrative in multimedia artworks.

Artist Statement:
IMPERMANENCE is a series of photographs to describe the decline of the obvious in our daily lives. The photos depict very common daily life surroundings that seem like full of vigor, but the only life form, the flower, appears to be fading.
Flowers as a metaphor expressing the finality of life. The decaying process serves as a contrast to the vitality, which embodies and reveals the omnipresence of death in our daily lives. The photos are photographer’s way of expressing the impermanence of life.

 

WONG PAK HANG (b.1995)
Department of Fine Arts, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Wong Pak Hang is inspired by modern life and habitation. He expresses himself through both digital and mixed media works including photography, video, painting and installation. Wong’s deep and genuine care for people led him to create a series of video works and photography that use people’s homes as a reflection of their lives. Wong believes we can all enter and understand someone’s life by peering into their personal surroundings. By panning through the homes of different individuals we not only feel their distinct nature but also the connectedness of everyone.

Artist Statement:
Where I live, a new construction has appeared up the hill from me while the old buildings below mine have been demolished. Newcomers have moved in while old dwellers have been relocated. I find life fluid and full of changes, you never know if things will change for the better or the worse. For the people who live here though, their daily lives do not undergo much change: they go to school, go to work, take the bus, buy groceries. I am interested in their daily lives, I want to enter their lives. What does their ‘real life’ entail? I visited ten friends’ homes, including my own. The photos present the homes in flat and straightforward ways. We can see the entire living environment and the traces of people’s lives.

 

About 10 Chancery Lane Gallery

Since 2001, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery has been a driving force in contemporary art in Hong Kong and is one of Asia’s leading contemporary art galleries. Representing artists from the AsiaPacific, the gallery is particularly interested in emerging art movements and historically important artists from the region. Representing important artists such as Huang Rui and Wang Keping (China), Atul Dodiya (India),
Bui Cong Khanh, The Propeller Group and Dinh Q. Lê (Vietnam), and Manit Sriwanichpoom(Thailand), 10 Chancery Lane Gallery is committed to playing a role in documenting the development of art from the Asia-Pacific. Katie de Tilly is the President Emeritus and one of the founders of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association.

For press enquiries and to arrange interviews, please contact Elsie Fong on [email protected] or +852 2810 0065.