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Exploring the art of paper in the digital age

31 Mar 2025

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The Academy of Visual Arts presents an Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 parallel exhibition “Paperscape” on campus.

 

In a time when digital technology seems to be on the verge of replacing the traditional functions of paper, “Paperscape”, an exhibition organised by the Academy of Visual Arts (AVA) under the School of Creative Arts at HKBU, explores the question: “Can the contemporary art of paper foster our reconnection with this medium?”

The exhibition, which opens from 20 March until 9 April at the Koo Ming Kown Exhibition Gallery on the HKBU campus, takes place parallel to Art Basel Hong Kong 2025. As one of the Cultural Partners of the renowned international art fair for the third consecutive year, AVA hosted a representative booth at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from 28 to 30 March.

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Juri Hwang, Research Assistant Professor of the Academy of Film at HKBU, presents a multi-sensory media installation, Nightfield, using Hanji paper.
Vietnamese artist Phạm Nguyễn Anh Tú creates untitled (Hell Fashion) with paper offerings.
AVA alumna Leung Yuen-shan’s Obsession serves as a self-liberating “ritual”.

Co-curated by Dr Wang Yizhou, Research Assistant Professor of AVA, and alumna Ms Yang Tong, “Paperscape” features paper artworks created by 15 contemporary artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, including eight HKBU staff members and alumni.

The curators believe that paper, a material that is both flexible and affordable, is not only commonly used in our daily life, but it also carries profound cultural and spiritual significance. They hope that the exhibition can delve into the multifaceted nature of paper and foster trans-cultural and trans-historical discussions centred on the materiality of paper as an art medium, thereby inspiring new ways of thinking and encouraging a reconnection with the cultural, intellectual, and spiritual significance that paper embodies.

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AVA alumna Chan Hoi-shan’s Journey of Footprints is a simulated diary that documents her mother’s life journey through her mother’s words.
Hong Kong artist Wai Pongyu presents his work A Rhythm of Landscape 37.
Filipino artist Augustine Paredes’ work, A Leaking Wound, features performative incense burnings on Hanji paper.
AVA alumna Li Wing-yuet creates a scenic wall scroll by using alcohol to wash over daily collected receipts.

Through materials ranging from toilet paper, white paper, receipt and paper offerings, the artists created multisensory media installations, painting installations, ink on paper, paper mache sculptures, installation art, video and multimedia works. These creations present paper as a three-dimensional and affective “paperscape” that both resonates with and contrasts against the simple and pure form of paper. The artworks aim to trigger a resonance with the audience’s initial perceptions and memories of paper, and evoke a deep connection with the individual or the collective stories it carries.

In addition to the parallel exhibition, HKBU hosted two panel discussions at the Exchange Circle at the HKCEC during Art Basel Hong Kong, where the artists from “Paperscape” and HKBU representatives shared their insights on the themes “The Future of Immersive Experience” and “Paper Transcendence” respectively. An artist talk discussing the use of paper in contemporary art was also held on campus.