Para Site

IV Chan: Poop Me to the Moon

Date
Mar 21, 2023 – Mar 25, 2023
Location
Art Basel Hong Kong
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
IV Chan, Crying non-stop, 2022, performance-related objects, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Para Site, Hong Kong.｜陳子雯，《Crying non-stop》，2022，與行為表演相關的物件，尺寸可變。由藝術家及Para Site藝術空間提供。

Para Site is proud to present ‘Poop Me to the Moon’, a newly commissioned project by IV Chan at Art Basel Hong Kong (21–25 March 2023) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The presentation marks Para Site’s long-standing commitment at the fair to support and promote new directions pursued by emerging or underrepresented artists based in Hong Kong.

Through a theatrical presentation curated by Para Site Assistant Curators Kobe Ko and Cusson Cheng, the artist employs the psychoanalytic concept of ‘abjection’ to revisit childhood memories, exploring the boundaries between enjoyment and anxiety through a child’s worldview. In the newly commissioned work, Chan has created an immersive environment inspired by the childhood bunk bed she shared with her younger sister. Playing with the theme of a child’s longing for the mother’s attention and grief in her absence, soft sculptures resembling human waste ooze from the display structure and spill over the booth floor, producing an intimate yet uncanny installation.

Chan’s playful interpretation of desire and abjection runs throughout her anthropomorphic sculptures, installations, poetry, and performances. The artist creates interventions and evokes unexpected bodily experiences inspired by her own personal experiences and memories, while addressing themes connected to body politics, psychoanalysis, folklore, and mythology. By inserting the concept of a ‘problematic body’ into the public sphere, the presentation looks to create discussion and experiences connected to the artist’s long-term interest in alternative understandings and imaginations of the physical body.

During Art Basel Hong Kong, the artist will stage two performances at the Para Site booth at the following times:

Tuesday, 21 March 2023, 3-4 pm
Thursday, 23 March 2023, 3-4 pm

Since Art Basel Hong Kong’s inaugural edition in 2013, Para Site has maintained the tradition of highlighting the work of emerging Hong Kong artists at the annual fair. Alumni of the Para Site booth at Art Basel Hong Kong include To Kai On Benny (2022), Chan Ka Kiu (2019), Law Yuk Mui (2018), Lau Wai and Wong Wing Sang (2017), Andio Lai (2016), Sarah Lai Cheuk Wah (2015), Lee Kai Chung (2014), and Ho Sin Tung (2013).

About the artist

IV Chan’s practice explores the complexities of the human body and soul through sculptures, installations, and performances. She sees our corporeal existence as tragic and ludicrous; sordid and pure. While inspecting her own problematic bodily experiences, she is fascinated by the interrelationship between original sin and its catharsis with a focus on the mother and child complex. Her tactile and somewhat playful sculptures touch upon the breadth of bodily experience and the metaphysical. She employs a range of techniques to piece together these interwoven narratives and concepts where textile is manipulated, sewn, punctured, and stuffed while coming into contact with an array of other media including beads and wax.

Chan was an artist in residence at Tai Kwun in 2021 which resulted in a performance of her work What did mother not tell me at the JC Cube. She also took part in the Para Site Paid Studio Visits in 2020, a programme initiated in response to the pandemic. Her artistic endeavour also include art direction and costume design for films and theatre productions. Chan is a part-time lecturer at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Chan has received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, a Post Graduate Diploma in Visual Art from Goldsmiths University of London, and an MFA from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Support

The exhibition is generously supported by Christopher K. Ho.

Installation Views