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Two HKBU artists capture poetic rhythms of Hong Kong life at Venice Biennale
29 May 2026
At the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Hong Kong’s contemporary art voice finds a resonant expression through “Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice” presented by artists from Hong Kong Baptist University.
Presented as a Collateral Event in one of the world’s most historic and influential platforms for contemporary visual art, the exhibition features Professor Kingsley Ng Siu-king, Associate Professor, and Ms Angel Hui Hoi-kiu, an HKBU alumna and part-time Lecturer at the Academy of Visual Arts of HKBU. Selected from over 200 nominations as the only two artists representing Hong Kong, their participation is both a personal artistic milestone and a testament to HKBU’s growing international presence in the creative arts.
With the theme “Fermata”, the Hong Kong exhibition centres on capturing the poetic rhythms of everyday life. Drawing inspiration from the fermata symbol in sheet music, which signifies a note or rest to be prolonged at the performer’s discretion, the curatorial concept resonates with the Biennale’s overarching theme this year, “In Minor Keys”. Professor Ng and Ms Hui are adept at transforming daily life into an artistic language. Through medium such as light, sound and installation, they present five works that reinterpret the rhythms and aesthetics of life, inviting visitors on a journey of self-discovery within the flux of the everyday.
Translating everyday rituals into meditative art
“Across the three installations, I transformed everyday moments into meditative experiences through light, sound, and movement.” Professor Ng said in an interview. “In Sometimes, There Are Clouds in Puddles, iridescent ribbons twist as triggered by programmed motors in a quiet courtyard, reflecting light like illuminated raindrops. In Sky Well, soap bubbles rotate under a single tungsten bulb, whose reflections create an illusion of dancing lights, evoking a dry, zen landscape.”
His third piece, Laundry Nocturne, synchronises projected lights and shadows of an airing blanket to radio static, turning overlooked domestic rituals into a space for listening to absence and presence.
The power of these works lies not in their physical scale, but in the ability to make people notice what they often overlook. They ask the audience to look more closely and find beauty in the simple rhythms of daily life – a cat purring in the dark, treating sewage, mail sorting and newspaper printing. These are the pulse beneath urban life, the quiet labour that continues while the city sleeps.
A milestone for arts education
The exhibition in Venice is also a significant milestone for arts education. Professor Ng points out that several members who helped bring this exhibition to life are graduates of HKBU’s Academy of Visual Arts. The School of Creative Arts is supporting four students to stay in Venice for a month, giving them first-hand exposure to the Biennale and to the realities of global artistic exchange. For young art students, these experiences are truly valuable and may become a rich source of inspiration for their future creations.
For Professor Ng, this experience also reinforces an important message for arts education. While artists are often imagined as working alone in the studio, he believes that collaboration across disciplines and backgrounds is increasingly essential. At a time when technology and AI may appear to make individual creation easier, the ability to work with others remains a vital creative strength.
This year’s Collateral Event of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia runs from 9 May to 22 November 2026 in Venice, Italy. The Hong Kong exhibition, “Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice”, is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), and jointly organised by the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the HKADC.
