《困・口・人》
12-16 May 2021
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03
un….BREAKABLE
From Spaced to Spaceless
《困・口・人》
CURATORIAL STATEMENT 展覽介紹
Sweeping the globe, the pandemic turmoil has shatteringly isolated people and inevitably changed the ways of living – people get stuck at home, face travel restrictions and keep social distancing. Barriers between countries and cities are built; everyone is surrounded by invisible walls in the society. We are driven further apart, and human bondings are even ruptured… Today, the end of the pandemic is still not in sight. However worried we may feel about being trapped in “boxes”, we embrace a brighter future to come. The power of art helps us transcend reality and break through all the boundaries. For the future, we see the possibility of boundlessness.
This online exhibition features a collection of fascinating paintings from nine Hong Kong local and international artists. With works of art in various painting techniques and styles, artists address the interaction between human and space. Expecting an imaginative departure from the current pandemic situation, it invites spectators for unlimited thinking.
The exhibition is devised in the alignment of Spaced and Spaceless.
In “Spaced”, artworks depict the resignation of being trapped in stifling space. Everyone wants to escape from “boxes”, be they a room of one’s own or the city, yet they are still within the boundaries at all events…
In “Spaceless”, we imagine gradually walking out of the “boxes” and no longer being bound by any constraints – a desire for freedom of body and mind. Looking into the unknown future, we keep our hopes alive.
紛擾不安的疫症下,人們必須開展種種封鎖隔離,天翻地覆的改變我們的生活模式──待在家中獨處、無法出國旅行、保持社交距離。國與國之間築起高牆,圍繞著每個人的界限亦無形建立起來,彼此的關係逐漸拉遠,又被斬斷⋯⋯日子一天一天過去,疫情似無了期,未見終點,叫人內心感到憂慮。但此時此刻,縱然被困「盒子」,無阻我們積極想像未來,能在一息之間逃離現實,步步走出「盒子」, 劃破所有邊界,展望無邊無際的自由,迎來一片無憂之地。
是次展覽邀請九位本地及海外藝術家,通過不同風格的藝術創作,建立人類與空間的互動關係,從疫情現況與抽象思想交錯的建構出發,引領觀眾跨越界線。
展覽劃分成「困局」與「無間」兩部份。
在第一部份「困局」,作品呈現了被困者的無奈,以及空間帶來的壓逼感。人們都想逃離這個「盒子」,卻發現仍困於其中,不論是在自己的房間還是城市之中⋯⋯
在第二部份「無間」,想像逐漸走出「盒子」,不再受束縛;自由的身軀與空間,正是我們所渴求的。將來的故事著無人知曉,但今天我們以盼望面對未來。
I
Issac Cordal
Under the impact of the epidemic, we are all more or less accustomed to living in the confines of our homes and have experienced overwhelming isolation from the outside world. Entitled ‘Shelter’, Spanish artist Issac Cordal has created a series of sculptures of middle-aged, bald men with depressed, wooden expressions and heavy behaviors that people can easily relate to.
疫情衝擊下,我們或多或少都在疫情衝擊下習慣了這種困於家中的封閉生活,經歷過與外界隔離的手足無措。 西班牙藝術家Issac Cordal通過一系列以「Shelter」為題的微型雕塑作品,將人們能夠較易共情的苦悶愁緒寄託在表情沮喪、木訥,舉止畏縮沉重的中年禿頭男子雕塑中。

Year: 2020
Medium: Wood, Glass, Polyurethane Resin and Acrylic 木材、玻璃、聚氨酯樹脂和塑膠
Size: 21 x 14 x 14 cm

Year: 2020
Medium: Wood, Glass, Polyurethane Resin and Acrylic 木材、玻璃、聚氨酯樹脂和塑膠
Size: 21 x 14 x 14 cm

Year: 2020
Medium: Wood, Glass, Polyurethane Resin and Acrylic 木材、玻璃、聚氨酯樹脂和塑膠
Size: 21 x 14 x 14 cm

Year: 2020
Medium: Wood, Glass, Polyurethane Resin and Acrylic 木材、玻璃、聚氨酯樹脂和塑膠
Size: 21 x 14 x 14 cm
——
Abby Lee Yan-yee
李欣儀
The pandemic has introduced a loneliness epidemic to many countries of the world – and the crowded but glamorous city of Hong Kong has not escaped the ravages of Covid-19. In her “Study of Spaces and System” series, Hong Kong artist Abby Lee depicts a residential building in which dwellers are either deep in contemplation or wandering around in their own living spaces, separated by blocks of colour and cement, evoking a sense of alienation and of being imprisoned, trapped by their own paranoia, revealing a sense of disconnection felt while under the strict confinement of lockdown. However, each of these seemingly independent living spaces all have water pipes running through each block, hinting of a subtle connection between residents and their isolation estrangement.
Covid-19給世界帶來了一種名為孤獨感的流行病。擁擠但迷人的香港當然沒有倖免於這場疫症的肆虐。香港藝術家李欣儀在「Study of Spaces and System」系列中,描繪了一棟大樓的居民。他們被色彩和水泥塊隔開,在自己的生活空間中沉思或是在來回踱步。畫面喚起一種被囚禁的感覺以及疏離感,表現出因疫情隔離下所感到的脫節感。然而,這看似獨立的生活空間中,有一條貫穿每個單位的水管,暗示著鄰居之間微妙的聯繫。

Year: 2020
Medium: Cement and Acrylic on Wood 水泥塑膠彩木板
Size: 45 x 45 cm

Year: 2020
Medium: Cement and Acrylic on Wood 水泥塑膠彩木板
Size: 45 x 45 cm

Year: 2017
Medium: Acrylic on Wood 塑膠彩木板
Size: 43 x 40 cm
——
Chui Pui-Chee
徐沛之
It is a playful collection from Dr Chui. Both artworks depict the social gathering restrictions in the context of Hong Kong. Although these little ants are gathering together in the same space, however, if we take a close look at it, they are in a group of four – a picture of reality, the resignation in life.
徐沛之的畫作「陋屋之友」系列充滿玩味,編號29與31的畫作之題均為限聚令。小小的螞蟻都一一聚在一起,但仔細一看,僅限四人一聚。這正是現實的寫照,生活的無奈。

陋室之友 之三十一 限聚令
Year: 2020
Medium: Ink on Gold Paper 水墨紙本
Size: 21.8 x 21.8 cm

陋室之友 之廿九 限聚令
Year: 2020
Medium: Ink on Gold Paper 水墨紙本
Size: 21.8 x 21.8 cm
——
Barbara Licha
As humans, we are connected to each other. We do belong to diverse groups, and form communities. The sculpture “Tenants” address global issues broadly related to cultural, social, political and economic values. As people, we are residents of cities, village’s buildings or houses to share lives with others, but at the same time, allow ourselves a personal space to accommodate our character. Cubic, where the artist has placed figures expresses our private space.
作為人類,我們相互連結。我們屬於不同的群體,形成不同的社區。雕塑作品「居住者」探討了與文化、社會和經濟價值廣泛相關的全球問題。作為人,我們是不同城市、村莊或房屋的居民,與他人分享生活,但同時,我們希望能夠擁有個人空間來安放我們的性格。藝術家把人物放置於立方體中,表達我們的私人空間。

Year: 2020
Medium: Stainless steel wire, Aluminium wire, Galvanised mesh 不鏽鋼絲、鋁線、鍍鋅網格
Size: 230 x 100 x 80 cm

Chaos and Order 混沌與秩序
Year: 2013
Medium: Galvanised mesh 鍍鋅網格
Size: 160 x 242 x 162 cm

Listen time passes 聆聽時間流逝
Year: 2010
Medium: Galvanised mesh 鍍鋅網格
Size: 240 x 120 x 100 cm
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Yu Kam-faat
余錦發
When there is just one voice, one goal or one direction left in this world, we can only spend our entire life running forward, without room to think or time to rest. Unfortunately, not everyone has strong legs or flapping wings. Once we pause, we fall behind. Sometimes we are even accused of betrayal and considered as a monster who destroys everything. Yu Kam-faat’s grotesque cartoon characters represent a world where everyone turns into monsters — in doing so, the artist hopes that we can embrace various voices and choose different paths.
The work shows the daily life of the ravages of Covid-19. Under the social distancing and Ban on restaurant dining, even though people are already outside, they still seem to be trapped in a box, trying to find a way out.
當這個世界只剩下一種聲音、一個目標、一個方向,我們只能窮一生精力向前跑,沒有思考的空間,也沒有休息的時間。 可惜的是,我們不是每人都有矯健的雙腿、足以翱翔的翅膀。一旦停下來,我們便會在跑道上落後一大截,或是被冠上離經叛道的罪名、被視為破壞一切的怪獸。余錦發以怪誕無稽的卡通人物呈現人人化作怪獸的世界但願我們都能說不同的聲音,走不同的路。
作品展示疫情期間的大眾日常,在保持社交距離及禁止堂食底下,盡管已經身在室外,仍是逼迫於困於盒中,欲尋出路。

Year: 2020
Medium: Intaglio: Etching, Hand-colouring 凹版畫:蝕刻、手工上色
Size: 22 x 13 cm

Year: 2020
Medium: Intaglio: Etching, Hand-colouring 凹版畫:蝕刻、手工上色
Size: 22 x 13 cm
II

Year: 2021
Medium: Acrylic on Paper 塑膠彩繪本
Size: 30 x 40 cm
Stephen Wong
黃進曦
Taking inspiration from an accidental act of placing the model of the Thinker onto the Time Machine of Doraemon, Stephen Wong starts his playful exploration between the “useless” trinkets and landscape-printed objects at home. Under the current situation that we cannot physically travel all over the world, these unexpected combinations of objects demonstrate creativity painted on the spaceless canvas, allowing us to fantasize about traveling at home.
受將沉思者模型放在叮噹時光機的一次意外行為的靈感啟發,黃進曦開始了他對家中「無用」的小擺件與印有不同景觀的物件之間的趣味探索。在無法親身外出旅行的當下,這些意想不到的物件組合在空間無盡的畫布上發揮出別樣的創意,讓人居於家中也可幻想暢遊四方。

Year: 2021
Medium: Acrylic on Paper 塑膠彩繪本
Size: 50 x 70 cm

Year: 2021
Medium: Acrylic on Paper 塑膠彩繪本
Size: 60 x 90 cm
——
Janaina Mello Landini
Ciclotrama is an invented word by Janaina Mello Landini as a name for the project that she has been developing since 2010. Working with thread and rope, she creates installations in situ, occupying space in immersive and unexpected fashion. The artist’s main idea is to create a physical experience of tension, portraying imaginary networks that define spaces and retell narratives.
The social cartography of individual networks shows the infinite interconnectedness and interdependence of personal trajectories throughout a system, society, and the world as a whole. The movement of bodies (ropes) and the relationship between rhythm and time are also fundamental aspects of these series. The unwoven strands seem to be reminiscent of the roots of plants, the circulatory systems of bodies and the nerve endings of neurons.
Ciclotrama是Janaina Mello Landini發明的一個詞,作為她自2010年以來一直在創作的項目的名稱。她使用線和繩索,在原地創造裝置,以沉浸式和意想不到的方式佔據空間。藝術家的主要想法是創造一種緊張的物理體驗,描繪出定義空間和重述敘事的想像網絡。
個人網絡的社會製圖展現了整個系統、社會和整個世界的個人軌蹟的無限的相互聯繫和相互依賴。身體(繩索)的運動和節奏與時間的關係也是這些系列作品的基本方面。未編織的繩索似乎讓人聯想到植物的根部、身體的循環系統和神經元的神經末梢。

Year: 2016
Medium: 25m of Red Polyethylene Rope on Canvas 聚乙烯繩布本
Size: 120 x 480 x 80 cm

Year: 2019
Medium: 6 Blue Nylon Ropes on Sailing Boat Fabric 尼龍繩帆船布本
Size: 120 x 200 cm
Ciclotrama 137 (Expansão)
Year: 2019
Medium: 6 Blue and Black Ropes on Sailing Boat Fabric 尼龍繩帆船布本
Size: 200 x 200 cm

Year: 2017
Medium: Installation: Two 18mm diameter Nylon Ropes, one yellow and one red and 3.200 Golden Nails 裝置: 尼龍繩,釘
Size: 276 x 400 x 660 cm
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Year: 2017
Medium: Acrylic on Wood Panel 板面油畫
Size: 50 x 50 cm

Year: 2018
Medium: Oil on Wood Panel 板面油畫
Size: 21 x 21 cm
Cinta Vidal
Her works show the ungravity construction, exploring the impossibility of completely understanding everything going on around us but still we are still able to successfully navigate through the maze of life. Let us recognize what we are seeing, but to see it in a very different, unstructured, broken way. We forget sometimes, but on the other side of the world, there are people living upside down, actually living in the same situation like us.
We might be able to shape our lives like weightlessness when things are viewed in different orientations.
作品建構無重力狀態來表達雖然我們不可能完全理解周圍發生的一切,但仍能於生活的迷宮中掌舵及渡過我們的人生,並以一種不同的,無組織的及突破的方式來看待以往所認知的世界。有時候我們忘記了在世界的另一端其實同樣活於相近的境況,當我們能夠以不同角度觀看事情,或許可以塑造出一個無重無慮的生活。

Year: 2018
Medium: Oil on Wood Panel 板面油畫
Size: 21 x 21 cm

Year: 2018
Medium: Oil on Wood Panel 板面油畫
Size: 55 x 55 cm
——
Du Jian-Min
杜建旻
The broad smoky white paint looks like cotton and cloud and composes the tender space of the imaginative world. In the image, a man wearing white shirt and black shoes keeps floating freely and leisurely in the tranquil world as if he has got rid of the noise in the secular world. It is a metaphor of his desire to keep far away from the external turmoil and return to the pure internal mind. The red rectangles on four sides are added on purpose to make a frame for the visual focus and increase the richness of the image. The artist applies the real man as a reflection to creating a space for spiritual desire and expressing the mental awareness of the internal and external intersection between painting, livelihood, and life.
彷若棉花白雲般的大片灰白色顏料,鋪出一片臆想世界的柔軟天地。畫面中一位身著白衣黑鞋的人物,就像脫離俗世喧鬧般,自在悠閒地漂浮在這片寧靜世界,隱喻其企圖遠離外在紛擾,返回純淨內心的想望。而畫面四邊刻意添上的紅色長形方塊,則框架出畫面的視覺焦點,增添畫面空間的豐富性。藝術家以現實人物為投射,營造出靈魂渴望的空間場域,表達在繪畫、生活、與生命之間,內外交錯的心弦感知。

Year: 2006
Medium: Oil on Canvas 油畫
Size: 106.1 x 131.1 x 7 cm
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Curatorial Team 策展團隊
Au Hoi Kwan 歐凱鈞
Liu Jianing 劉佳寧
Liu Kin Ying 廖健盈
Tsang Sai Sai 曾西西
Tsui Po Yee Elsa 徐寶兒
Yip Oi Ching 葉藹程
Advisor 策展顧問
Prof. Ho Hing Kay Oscar 何慶基教授
Artists 參展藝術家
Abby Lee Yan-yee 李欣儀
Barbara Licha
Chui Pui-Chee 徐沛之
Cinta Vidal
Du Jian-Min 杜建旻
Isaac Cordal
Janaina Mello Landini
Stephen Wong 黃進曦
Yu Kam-Faat 余錦發