CHAN Wai Lap: LOVEGUARD
陳惠立《救心員》
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22 March – 3 May 2025
CHAN Wai Lap's latest solo exhibition 'LOVEGUARD' reimagines the role of lifeguards, exploring the connection and disconnection between people in contemporary society. The exhibition responds to Hong Kong's lifeguard shortage while contemplating how strangers might build trust and maintain intimacy in an age of widespread wariness. The exhibition begins with the Loveguard's office, presenting a series of objects and drawings that hover between reality and fiction. Visitors will step into the life of the Loveguard, learning about their practice, observations, and personal interests. This immersive experience may trigger one’s desire to get help from a Loveguard, or the curiosity to join and become one. Three drawing series are featured in the main gallery spaces. 'You come to me on a summer breeze' continues the artist's research into public swimming pools worldwide. The works presented this time document Budapest's historic Gellért Baths and Széchenyi Thermal Bath, reflecting on human desires for shared spaces and a moment of leisure and healing through these architectural landmarks. 'Dreaming of Swimming Pools' portrays an imaginary pool system connected by crescents, stars, planets, and heart-shaped forms. The artist deliberately moves away from the pool's functional aspects, transforming it into a poetic vessel for dreams and emotions. The swimming pool has long been a place loaded with emotions, especially evident in the narratives of films. 'Love Hate Lust Fear Envy Leisure Boredom Glamour Excitement Oblivion Inspiration' has selected swimming pool scenes from various films, revealing the rich emotional spectrum contained within these seemingly ordinary spaces. The deliberate absence of human figures creates a moment of suspense, allowing viewers to project their own emotional experiences onto the scene. Scattered around the gallery are installations inspired by the artist’s encounters in swimming pools. 'Little Cool Companion' gives new meaning to the mundane air conditioner, metaphorically addressing the give-and-take interactions in modern relationships. 'Mr. Caution', a kinetic installation, brings an additional dimension to the exhibition through the choreographed movement of warning cones, creating a rich audiovisual landscape. 'Sweet Attraction' reimagines the mandatory shower area found before heading into the swimming pool zone. Twenty-five showerheads create a space where butterflies dance together in a surreal scene. This unique combination suggests that the exhibition's focus extends beyond physical rescue towards spiritual guardianship and purification. The exhibition also features 'The Shards of a Star' series originated from the artist's previous large-scale public art installation 'Some of us are looking at the stars' at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Through preserving and re-staging these mosaic fragments, CHAN continues his exploration of public spaces, offering viewers a new perspective to rethink the relationship between art, memory, and space. CHAN's practice has consistently focused on the delicate relationship between public and private spaces. In this exhibition, he explores the diversity of modern human relationships through the unique character of lifeguards—particularly intimacy with strangers in a state of emergency (such as physical contact and CPR). Responding to Hong Kong's lifeguard shortage, the exhibition extends to examine the relationship between professional qualification and practical abilities, reflecting on society's rigid reliance on professional certification and the importance of expert judgment during emergencies, as evidenced by the emergence of "fake lifeguards." 'LOVEGUARD' not only demonstrates CHAN's ongoing exploration of swimming pools and public spaces but also, through this playful conceptual framework, investigates human connections and companionship in an age of uncertainty. The exhibition weaves together social issues, artistic creation, and personal experiences, creating a space that is both intimate and open, where viewers can engage in dialogue and find resonance through artistic experience. CHAN Wai Lap (Born in 1988, Hong Kong) received his Bachelor of Art (Hons) in Visual Communication from Birmingham City University in 2011. CHAN’s creative practice primarily involves painting and drawing, while he also explores making artist books and installations. CHAN’s works are often inspired by his personal experience, memories, and everyday happenings, investigating the concept of power dynamics—between public and private, self and others, and the inter-relationships of these notions. CHAN is particularly keen on documenting public swimming pools. His pool installations have been so well-received that he crossed over into the popular culture realm through showcasing at a Cantopop concert in 2022, and his public installation ‘Some of us are looking at the stars’, commissioned by the Hong Kong Museum of Art in March 2023, brings his swimming pool to the harbourfront, thereby creating a public intimate space for passersby. CHAN’s works have been included in solo and group exhibitions in various art institutions. Selected notable solo exhibitions include ‘Some of us are looking at the stars’, (Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 2023), ‘The Lonesome Changing Room’ (Contemporary by Angela Li & Art Central, Hong Kong, 2021), ‘I cannot Wait for Three Months!’ (halka sanat projesi, Istanbul, 2019), ‘I say Marco, You say Polo’ (Fringe Club, Hong Kong, 2019, School of Visual Arts, New York, 2018), ‘Everything’s Alright’ (chi K11 art space, Hong Kong, 2016), and ‘Yesterday’s – Dirty Paper Exhibition’ (Osage Gallery, Hong Kong, 2013). Group exhibition participations include: ‘Oi! Spotlight: encounters: oi! oi! oi!’ (Oil Street Art Space, Hong Kong, 2024), ‘White Holes: The Mysteries and Modern Perceptions of Oracle Bone Script’ (798 CUBE, Beijing, 2023), ‘A Collection in Two Acts’ (Rossi & Rossi, Hong Kong, 2022), ‘The Sunshine is still there’ (SC Gallery, Hong Kong 2022), ‘Let’s Try Catching Steam with Bare Hands’ (Gallery EXIT, Hong Kong, 2021), ‘I Will Always Be On Your Side’ (part of the 55 Squared Project, commissioned by Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong, 2020), ’The Bacteriology Drawing Lab’ (Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences, 2019) and ‘ASYAAF & Hidden Artist Festival 2018’ (Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul), and more. He was the winner of the inaugural Winsor & Newton x Paul Smith's Foundation International Art Prize in 2024 and the Award for Young Artist (Visual Arts) of the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards in 2019, and the finalist for the 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize and 2021 Art Sanya Huayu Youth Award. The artist currently lives and works in Hong Kong. |