WONG Sze Wai
Current Exhibition
2 Jul - 7 Aug, 2021 | Contemporary by Angela Li| Sheung Wan|
It has been a while since the world seems to have paused, and daily activities have been put to a stall. In the face of an uncertain future, people continue to be trapped in the dimension of the present moment. Neither can yesterday be erased, nor a path to tomorrow be created. People’s hearts stay between the past, the present and the future.
Contemporary by Angela Li is proud to present group exhibition curated by Leung Shiu Kee Eric “Future of the Past” from 2 July to 7 August, showcasing artworks by seven Hong Kong artists who use their works to explore the meaning of time, history and memories. Participating artists include Au Hoi Lam, Cheung Ho Keung Edward, Leung Lok Hei Giraffe, Ma King Chu Ivy, Wong Chak Hung, Wong Sze Wai and Wong Ying Sheung Ying. Their thoughts and emotions are captured in a particular moment through artistic practices with distinctive characteristics.
Cheung Ho Keung Edward paints illusory historical sites of Hong Kong. He sets foot in the future to look back upon our “history” that has not yet arrived. He predicts and reviews the changes of the city, seeking liberation in the remains. The inspiration of his work Angelus Novus by Paul Klee (1879-1940) comes from Selected Writings: vol. 4. in Theses on the Philosophy of History by Walter Benjamin. Standing here and now, the New Angel puts the future behind and turns to the historical trace of the past, in search of redemption. Rooted in the present and surrounded by previous wounds, the New Angel has woken up and glimmered through the mist of our history.
In Wong Sze Wai’s paintings, she takes historical remains for its symbolic representation of memories and history, where hidden stories can be found. By applying short-lived materials, alongside repetitive procedures of washing them out, she attempts to capture how the past has been rewritten and removed consistently. Brushed in colours that remind viewers of the ancient wall mural paintings, Wong’s works are depicting every corner of this city.
Leung Lok Hei Giraffe breaks down digital images to metaphorically relive the past, slowly from remembering to forgetting. He uploads photos to Instagram and downloads them again, repeating the process every day. As the codes of image are consumed and get blurred during the process, the colours gradually transform to noise in black and white. This series points to a world overloaded with information where facts and memories fade away.
News today will become history of tomorrow. Wong Chak Hung replaces the first page of newspapers with renowned paintings, adding a sense of humour. Instead of dramatized words and photos, he recreates signs commonly used in mass media and brings a new perspective for the viewers to experience history.
The works Lily, gaze and Lily, tête-à-tête by Ma King Chu Ivy borrow images from the movie And Then (それから) directed by Morita Yoshimitsu. The artist prints a frame of the moving image and overlaps it with her sketching, as if she is drawing onto the dimension of time, as her way of reflecting and experimenting with sketching and printing.
In the series Definitions of Time, Au Hoi Lam expresses the passage of time through her art practice in her work Out of Season. The text is quoted from a song called Funny Time of Year in the album Out of Season by Beth Gibbons in 2002. The art piece captures a wish that a beautiful ending will arrive after endlessly swimming in the river of time.
The sculpture Viewing by Wong Ying Sheung Ying is moulded in reference to her own hand. With the gesture in the shape of holding a telescope, the work creates a restricted vision within set boundaries, yet also becomes a focus to bring light to more details and layers. Similarly, we tend to limit our own horizons and release them again. The art piece may reflect the turning point of history as it progresses.
過去一段日子，世界像暫時停頓，生活一度劃上休止符。面對不確定的未來，眾人彷彿仍凝結於徬徨的狀態，繼續囚困在「現在」這維度，既不能抹去歷史記憶，亦未能直接由過去穿越至未來，心靈在過去、現在和未來之間激盪。
Contemporary by Angela Li畫廊特別於7月2日至8月7日舉辦由梁兆基策展的《過去的未來》(Future of the Past) 展覽，邀請七位本地藝術家，展出他們探討時間、歷史與記憶的創作。參展藝術家包括區凱琳、張浩強、梁洛熙、馬琼珠、黃澤雄、黃詩慧及黃影嫦，透過各具特色的藝術手法，從不同視點刻劃他們在某一個當下的所感所思。
張浩強繪畫了虛幻的香港遺蹟，站在未來的視點回望將會發生的歷史，正在預視和回顧城市的銳變，尋求解脫。作品靈感來自班雅明《歷史哲學論綱》一文中有關保羅‧克利（Paul Klee, 1879-1940）畫作《新天使》的描述︰「新天使站在當下，背向未來，面向過去層層堆積的歷史遺蹟，期待救贖的降臨。救贖就在當下，站在當下回顧過去歷史和傷痕的碎片，從過去種種醒悟過來，轉化過去的記憶碎片，以反射出閃閃靈光。」
黃詩慧的繪畫以廢墟為主題，視之為記憶和歷史的載體，從中發掘隱藏的記憶及被遺忘的事蹟。藝術家特意使用不穩定的媒材，透過重覆繪畫和沖洗的過程，表達記憶及歷史被不斷書寫和抹除。作品以充滿古舊壁畫的斑斕色彩，紀錄著消逝的城市角落。
梁洛熙則以數碼的形式塗抹影像，重塑記憶遺忘的過程。他把照片上載至Instagram然後再下載，每日重做一次，影像訊號在上下載過程中不斷耗損愈變模糊，色彩逐漸退去剩下黑白噪點。這系列攝影作品亦反映在大量訊息充斥的社交媒體中，事實與記憶很快被沖淡消亡。
報章上的新聞將會成為明日的歷史，黃澤雄幽默地把本地報紙的頭版換成名畫，替代了譁眾取寵的文字與照片，改寫了大眾媒體傳播的感情符號，讓觀眾重新思考及感受歷史的另一面。
馬琼珠的《百合花，凝望。》及《百合花，對話。》圖像來自森田荒光的電影《其後》。藝術家撮取了電影的一刻打印再在上面素描，有如改編靜止的時間，並在素描與打印影像之間，作出反思和實驗。
作品《不合時》來自區凱琳的《時間釋義》系列，是她以手藝來表達對時間流逝的感觸。畫中的文字出自音樂人Beth Gibbons 2002年專輯 Out of Season中的一曲 Funny Time of Year。作品呈現在「時間」無限慢流中，藝術家等待一個美麗結局的心情。
黃影嫦則用自己的手鑄成《觀自在》雕塑。手指圈成鏡筒狀，收窄了視角但又觀察到更多的細節與層次，眼界既自我限制也重新釋放，可能正是處於歷史轉折審視世態的映照。
