HKBU stages Art Basel Hong Kong parallel exhibition “Women at the End of the World”

Friday, 17 March 2023

 

The Academy of Visual Arts (AVA) of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is proud to be selected as one of the University Partners of Art Basel Hong Kong this year, which will soon stage its largest show in Hong Kong since 2019.

Aside from having a HKBU representative booth at Art Basel in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from 21 to 25 March, AVA organised an Art Basel parallel exhibition at the University’s Kai Tak campus, featuring the creative works of four AVA alumnae. Free admission by online registration until 2 April.

The exhibition, revolving around the theme of “Women at the End of the World”, is led and curated by Dr Evelyn Kwok, Research Assistant Professor of AVA and Associate Director of Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Visual Arts. The exhibition aims to generate dialogue about creating a culture of care, as well as caring for the environment and people, themes that underlie both the University Partner booth at Art Basel Hong Kong and the HKBU AVA gallery in the Kai Tak campus.

“Living on a dying planet constantly challenges who we are, where and how we live. To continue surviving and thriving, we must acknowledge the damage we have caused and build anew with resilience, care and creativity. Social and cultural traditions have tasked women with duties of care. Whether they like it or not, ‘caring’ has been generalised to being an ultimately ‘feminine’ act.

“To convey these interrelated ideas, we gather four outstanding female artists and together they try to reignite curiosity, conduct constant observations and open transdisciplinary conversations about life on this planet we call home, and take bold and transformative action to address these global challenges,” said Dr Kwok.

The exhibition showcases the creative works of four alumna artists namely Ms Ice Wong (黃姬雪), Ms Michelle Fung (馮捲雪), Ms Stacey Chan (陳樂珩) and Ms Mandy Ma (馬穎汶). The works are presented in different mediums including wood block prints, recycled textiles and interactive installations. Please see the attachment for an introduction of the artists and their exhibits. Dr Kwok and the four HKBU alumnae will give an artist talk on 23 March at the HKCEC.

For more information about the parallel exhibition, please visit: https://ava.hkbu.edu.hk/en/events/women_at_the_end_of_the_world

 

Attachment

Introduction of artists and their exhibits

Ms Ice Wong

(Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Visual Arts 2018 graduate)

By examining her personal experience in time and space, Ice takes the interconnectedness of nature and humanity as her point of departure, working mainly with performance, installation, video and drawing. In her art project at the exhibition, Ice features the sunflower for its symbolic meaning of hope and healing and its actual scientific value.

 

Ms Michelle Fung

(Master of Arts (MA) in Visual Arts 2015 graduate)

Northlandia is an imaginary country in The World of 2084, Michelle’s lifelong art project to portray a futuristic ecotopian/dystopian world in 2084. During fall 2022, Michelle joined The Arctic Circle 2022 residency programme in arctic Svalbard to conduct research for her Northlandia project. A collection of 24 Northlandia Arctic Woodcuts is exhibited for the first time alongside with a brand new original woodcut carving in this exhibition.

 

Ms Stacey Chan

(Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Visual Arts 2017 graduate)

Stacey‘s practice often involves conceptual processes and uses everyday objects such as pharmaceuticals as the medium. By visually presenting the notions of emptiness and nothingness through her drawing, sculpture and installation works, Stacey attempts to create a psychological dialogue between her viewers and the objects on display.

 

Ms Mandy Ma

(Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Visual Arts 2019 graduate)

Specialising in knitting, Mandy is keen to create the space and experience whereby visitors can explore the fluidity of her works through up-close participation. By collecting, dismantling and reconstructing existing objects, her works transform the relationship between objects and people and strengthen interpersonal connections.

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