The world is a show for my chosen eye's delight 《臆想錄》
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13 March - 30 April 2021 Olga AU, Oscar CHAN Yik Long, Chihoi, Hilarie HON, Kongkee, Ocean LEUNG, LI Ning, Son NI Gallery EXIT is pleased to present “The world is a show for my chosen eye’s delight”, a group exhibition that showcases artworks in different forms of expression, themes or formats inspired by urban and popular culture. Exhibiting artists include Olga AU Wing Chau, Oscar CHAN Yik Long, Chihoi, Hilarie HON, Kongkee, Ocean LEUNG, LI Ning, and Son NI. The selected works encompass paintings, mixed media paintings and installations, drawings, print works, porcelain sculptures, and a limited-edition figurine. Through their works of art, the group of eight artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan explore pop and cultural symbols, graphic narratives and found objects in contemporary art. Hilarie HON’s porcelain sculpture “Legless Flamingos” was batch-produced in a ceramic studio at Jingdezhen in 2017. Each flamingo was fired at a high temperature of 1,300°C at the studio’s kiln to achieve the desired neon colour. Much like the peculiar creatures that appear in HON’s oil paintings, the flamingo-like sculptural pieces are otherworldly and bold in colours. The creature has a flat two-dimensional upper body, combined with a three-dimensional lower body without legs. They seem like characters emerging from the artist’s 2D canvases into reality. Oscar CHAN Yik Long’s practice often touches on and thematises the topic of fear. His depictions of ghosts and demons have become reflections of the very nature of human desires and obsessions. “Rendez-vous avec la peur” is a series of ink drawings completed in 2019 inspired by French director Jacques Tourneur and his classic horror film with the same title. One of the drawings, “Fear of Fear”, is CHAN’s interpretation of Chung Kwei, a deity in Chinese and Japanese mythology. Also known as the “king of ghosts”, Chung Kwei is regarded as a protector against harm and evil. Figures inspired by the legends around Chung Kwei can still be seen at entrances of Chinese households and businesses during Lunar New Year. Based on CHAN’s earlier drawing of Chung Kwei, “The King of Ghosts” is a limited-edition figurine in alloy metal, resin and ABS plastic especially produced for this exhibition. The works by emerging artist Olga AU Wing Chau are bright in colour and absurd in nature. Painted with spray paint and acrylic, the deliberately amateurish and carefree aesthetic of her works is drawn from her imagination and everyday experiences, as well as symbolism in pop art and, graffiti and everyday experiences. “Eight Steeds”, for example, is the artist’s version of the “eight galloping horses”, a popular subject for Chinese feng shui paintings commonly placed in households and workplaces. Her depiction of the subject is cartoonish and humorous, mocking the absurdity of daily life. The practice of Ocean LEUNG is inspired by street aesthetics and vandalism, questioning the notion of ownership in urban spaces. The two sets of mixed media works “Unknown Pleasures”, completed in 2013, and “They Don’t Like Eggs” from 2016 are a commentary on the decontextualisation of social issues in a white cube gallery space, and a self-mockery of taking part in such a phenomenon. Both works are composed of vinyl banners found in the street – government promotional materials used by thefrom government and political parties duringof previous elections. The works remarked on the absurdity of the political situation and electoral system back then, and they remain as relevant today as ever. LI Ning’s approach to art-making has been greatly influenced by his profession as a practising tattoo artist. InFor his unique editioned print seriesset “Multiple Choice”,This time LI experimented with copper plate printing., with fine The fine plate-lines were engraved by hand and the distinctiveunique textures etched with a tattoo gun, a process that the artist is most familiar with. Each of the 16 unique prints has a separate visual composition, yet they form a continuous narrative, or a stream of consciousness, with symbols inspired by elements found in divination cards. Chihoi’s practice sprouted from his career as a comic book artist. He is also an art book publisher. His works span different mediums such as oil paintings, drawings, illustrations, and print works. His new work “Paper for Paper” is a series of 12 sequential paintings about the various stages of producing, reproducing, and publishing books from start to finish. To Chihoi, the very nature of comic book publishing is the exchange and handling of paper materials. From purchasing paper with banknotes, paper cutting, designing page layout, printing, book-binding, to packing and distributing to readers, the journey finally comes in full circle as the books are sold in exchange for banknotes. Son NI is an artist and publisher from Taiwan. Her practice combines the processes of drawing and structuring comics. She seeks inspiration from her own sketches and line drawings as the raw materials and bases for her later artwork in comic format. She then selects and rearranges the sketches to form coherent comic structures, with the narrative shaped by their spatial arrangement, line movements and bodily motions of the portrayed figures. Her editing process involves erasing, redrawing and retracing to refine the lines and composition, allowing the marks and traces of her working process to become part of the narrative structure. Her work “The Sun’s Shadow” from 2016 is an early example of the artist’s unique approach. Kongkee is a cross-disciplinary comic and animation artist. His oeuvre spans from comic to animation film, installation and design. His work’s themes reflect Hong Kong’s past, present and future and explore the evolution, history and fate of humans as a species. Remorseful over the inevitable passing of time, Kongkee often depicts dazzling yet empty scenes from a materialistic sci-fi city in the near future. This time the artist showcases his recent creations in various mediums, using found-object installation, lightbox presentation, silkscreen, digital as well as lenticular printing. In “Good Body / Never be Regretted”, Kongkee painted on a pair of found Hong Kong taxi doors, with a street aesthetic that is unmistakably Hong Kong. Related Articles:
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