The exhibition draws the attention to the collective anxiety and unease in China of the 1990s, following the failure of the student movement in 1989. This period in China appears on the surface to be “fractured”, with previous experiences, political, economic, and everyday, gradually losing their significance. Contemporary artists, who had rapidly accomplished their modernistic transformation in the 1980s, had to seek or create brand new experiences. In the process, the forces of globalization and the internal discussions around “modernism/post-modernism” shaped the tensions connected to the production, mobilization, and institutionalization of art.
Artist Talk
Aug 10, 2016 (Wed)
7:00pm
Shifting Locality: Chow Chun Fai and Trevor Yeung in conversation
Moderated by Leo Li Chen
On Wednesday, August 10th, the conversation between two Hong Kong artists, Chow Chun Fai and Trevor Yeung will focus on how the local and global social changes of the past decades, particularly the vast development of the art scene in the region, impact their artistic production.
The session will be conducted in Cantonese.
About the speakers
Chow Chun Fai (b. 1980) is known for his conceptually fuelled paintings and photographic installations. Chow holds a BA and MFA from the Fine Arts Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He takes an activist role as an artist: Chow serves as Chairman of the Fotanian Artist Village and in 2012 he ran in the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections, for the Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication constituency. Although his election bid was unsuccessful, it drew wide attention to grassroots issues related to art and culture in Hong Kong. His work has been featured in the exhibitions Venice Meeting Point at the Arsenale, Venice Biennale 2015; The Past Continuing at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum (2015); Hong Kong Eye at the Saatchi Gallery, London and the Liverpool Biennial (both UK, 2012). Chow is a recipient of the Grand Prize of the Hong Kong Arts Centre 30th Anniversary Awards, and the Sovereign Asian Art Prize. Chow lives and works in Hong Kong.
Trevor Yeung (b. 1988) graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts of Hong Kong Baptist University in 2010. Since 2010 Yeung has focused on developing personal projects. Yeung’s practice uses botanic ecology, horticulture, photography and installations as metaphors that reference the emancipation of everyday aspirations toward human relationships. Yeung participated in exhibitions including CHINA 8 at MKM Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst in Germany (2015) and Shanghai Biennale 2014 in China. Yeung was one of the 3 shortlisted artists for the BMW Art Journey award with his solo exhibition Garden Cruising: It’s not easy being green from the DISCOVERIES section at Art Basel Hong Kong 2015. He lives and works in Hong Kong.