Elah WONG Tsoi Wai: Unknown unknowns
王采薈《無名無明》
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14 June - 12 July 2025
Gallery EXIT presents Elah WONG Tsoi Wai’s solo exhibition Unknown unknowns, featuring the artist’s latest series of works. The exhibition focuses on Wong’s creative approach centred on bodily movement, exploring it as a medium for self-expression. Unknown (Nameless) points to an existence that requires no reference; unknowns (avidya) signifies an exploration that confronts the unknown. This new series embodies that very spirit. Except for‘To xxx’, all other works were created without predetermined themes, sketches, or reference materials. Guided entirely by instinct and bodily response in the moment, each stroke is an immediate reaction to the blank canvas—like an untitled dream whose form only emerges at the instant of its making. This state of ‘no preconception’ inspires bold experimentation: Wong at times scrapes away large areas of the surface, overlays new colours, then randomly tears off parts of the layers. This repeated cycle of destruction and reconstruction creates rich and varied visual textures. The artist firmly believes that bodily movement during creation is the most honest form of self-expression—take ‘scraping’ as an example: what appears to be an impulsive gesture is, in fact, precisely controlled. The mottled layers revealed beneath the scrapes are raw truths of the moment that cannot be rehearsed in advance. The subtle brushstrokes within the compositions leave no trace of beginning or end, flowing naturally like wandering thoughts—elusive and hard to capture. These marks not only crystallise the confusion and contradictions of the creative process but also bear witness to the artist’s spontaneous intuition and inner impulses. Elah WONG Tsoi Wai (born in 1999, Hong Kong) graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Visual Arts from the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University in 2024. As a Generation Z artist who came of age in the digital era, she continuously explores humanity’s self-positioning in technological society. For Wong, painting is the core vehicle of human creativity—she seeks answers through the brush, revealing the absurdity of the modern world. Her practice employs multiple layers of paint to create thick textures, transforming flat paintings into three-dimensional constructions. She invites viewers to join her in redefining painting and challenging established perceptions with a humorous stance. Recent group exhibitions include ‘Art Zaai Rising’ (Artbycrew, Hong Kong, 2025), ‘West Bund Art & Design 2024’ (Gallery EXIT, Shanghai, 2024), ‘HKFOREWORD23’ (10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong, 2023), and ‘Paperclip Truffle’ (New Asia College Ch’ien Mu Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2023). The artist currently lives and works in Hong Kong. |