Seven Hong Kong artists will present their work for the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority’s first major contemporary exhibition in Yau Ma Tei before Art HK 12.

To be open on May 15th, "Mobile M+: Yau Ma Tei“ is a multi-sited exhibition of six installations around the former fishing village and a historic district within West Kowloon showcasing contemporary Hong Kong Art before the actual M+, the new museum of visual culture, debut in late 2017.

"A museum is not the same as its building and its exhibits should break through its walls,” said Dr. Lars Nittve, Executive Director of M+. “One of our ambitions for the future is for the whole of West Kowloon to vibrate with art. Art can make a difference in terms of signifying a place and Yau Ma Tei is one of the areas that embodies Hong Kong's heart and soul. We look forward to being part of its urban fabric and its rich and complex history."

The seven artists participating in the exhibition are Kwan Sheung-chi and Wong Wai-yin, Leung Mee-ping, Erkka Nissinen, Pak Sheung-chuen, Tsang Kin-wah, and Yu Lik-wai. Their artworks will turn the selected sites along Portland Street and Shanghai Street into "museums without walls" and bring art closer to the local community and people.

Dr Lars Nittve said WKCDA would hope to take a leading role in taking local artists to the international stage because their artworks are of exceptional talent and represent the excellence and some of the diversity of the Hong Kong art scene.

As the museum for visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District, M+ would focus on visual culture from 20th and 21st century and traversing art, design, architecture and the moving image and with a world-class collection, M+ will be developed from a Hong Kong perspective, but with a global vision and outreach. It is an ambitious project, the scale of the building, at around 60,000 square metres, will be on a par with the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The Mobile M+: Yau Ma Tei will be open to the public daily from 10am to 7pm between May 15 and June 10 (from 9 am to 8pm between May 15 and May 20). Admission is free. For details, please visit our event website www.wkcda.hk/mobile-mplus, or call (852)22000204.

Seven artists and their works

Artist's bio

Work description

Image

 

Kwan Sheung-chi graduated in Fine Art from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2003. In 2002, the Hong Kong Arts Centre presented Kwan’s exhibition “A Retrospective of Kwan Sheung Chi”. And “Kwan Sheung Chi Touring Series Exhibitions, Hong Kong”. www.kwansheungchi.com

Wong Wai Yin graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2004, and The University of Leeds, UK (Masters in Fine Arts) in 2005. Her works have been  shown in Hong Kong, as well as in Japan, U.S.A, Singapore and Guangzhou. http://wwy.hk

Engaging the public to take part in a performance that determines the fate of the gold coin, Kwan and Wong posit the question of what constitutes the system of value in Hong Kong’s socio-political sphere.

“To defend the core values is the core of the core values” coin design

 

Leung Mee-ping graduated from L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, and obtained a master’s degree in Fine Art from the California Institute of the Arts, USA. Her solo exhibitions include “Reality – Leung Mee-ping Installation Art Exhibition” (2012) in Macau, and “Made in Hong Kong” (2011) in Taipei. http://www.lmp.hk

Transplanting the iconic Coca-Cola and Sprite outdoor neon-signs from Macau to Yau Ma Tei, Leung transforms the function of these visual symbols of collective memory into a sculptural installation.

“I Miss Fanta” conceptual image

 

Erkka Nissinen studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and earned a master’s degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. His works have been exhibited at the Ellen de Bruijne Project Space and Smart Projects Space (Amsterdam), Helsinki City Art Museum’s Kluuvin Gallery and 1646 in Den Haag. www.handkerchief.com.hk

An installation comprises videos and prints that fuse the construction of a film set with the appearance of a retail space, Nissinen offers a personal and humourous insight that explores the human existence, obsession and the absurdity of modern life.

“Silopolis” sketch

 

Pak Sheung-chuen studied Fine Arts and Theology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Pak has participated in platforms such as the 7th Taipei Biennial (2010) and the 3rd Yokohama Triennale (2008). He also represented Hong Kong at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. www.oneeyeman.com

“L” is a multifold and interlinked urban intervention consists of performance, documentation, publication and exhibition, Pak Sheung-chuen mediates the borders of spirituality, social interaction and the daily life.

“L” Proposal

 

Tsang Kin-wah graduated from the Fine Arts Department of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2000, and subsequently earned his master’s degree from Camberwell College of Arts. His solo exhibitions include “MAM Project 015: Tsang Kin-Wah” at Mori Art Museum (2011) and “Tsang Kin-Wah” at Yvon Lambert Gallery in New York and Paris (2007). http://tsangkinwah.com

The digital video installation by Tsang Kin-wah’s “The Fourth Seal – He Is To No Purpose And He Wants to Die For The Second Time” deploys the power of language in the form of a multimedia projection.

Detail of “The Fourth Seal – He Is To No Purpose And He Wants to Die For The Second Time”

 

Yu Lik-wai studied Cinematography at the Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle (INSAS). Yu’s directorial debut was the 1996 documentary Neon Goddesses. As a cinematographer, he has lensed most of Jia Zhangke’s films to date, and has worked with Ann Hui on  A Simple Life, 2011.

Drawing on the cinematic representation of supernatural elements and societal anxiety, Yu Lik-wai reinterprets these visual clichés in a three-channel moving image and photographic installations.

"FANTOMAS" conceptual image