Opening Reception:
28 Feb 2009 (Sat), 5 pm

Venue:
The Pottery Workshop Shanghai
Opening hours:
Mon-Sat 9am – 5pm  Closed on Sundays and public holidays

When the Earth is still rotating and there is no alien like Keanu Reeves (speaking Puthonghua) to come to give us warning, visible and invisible mobility is everywhere around us, from outer universe to inner flu. And recently, one thing that has linked up everyone’s heart is the economic mobility. Art was used by the authorities for propaganda in the old days and now a mirror through which to look at our society. No matter which role it plays, art communicates. When an artwork is on the move, a dialogue will happen between the content of art and its surrounding environment and people. This exhibition is composed of artworks with high mobility. The Thirteen Stories of Portable Art explores at different sectors of life how people prepare to communicate and its process.

“Portable Art” reveals the “action” involved in this exhibition. We, as curators, have invited 12 artists to make artworks of portable size and weight, and then we will lift, bear, shoulder, carry and move the artworks in every way we can to get them out of Hong Kong. On the way, we will photograph “Portable Art” at different stopovers, like the subway, taxi stop or inside the airport, etc. These photos will become part of The Thirteen Stories of Portable Art exhibition and describe the other 12 artworks’ mobility process. To kick start the prologue of The Thirteen Stories of Portable Art:

Rubbish is produced wherever there is human life. It is the by-product of civilization. As material civilization develops, rubbish is produced in greater quantity and complexity.  Since when is our city developed on top of rubbish? Pauline Lam packs a full suitcase of leftover from products of civilization. Civilization in a Suitcase flies from Hong Kong to Shanghai. It is displayed barbarously at the venue, allowing materials to rule the space and become part of her installation work. There are numerous movies, TV dramas and comics that centre around the end of the world caused by the endless human greed. One of the classic horror-comics called The Drifting Classroom published in the 1970’s has inspired Cheng Chi-ming, Carl, to use installation work to tell the story of drifting civilization and warn the modern world. In fact, terrorist attack is now everywhere, causing more tension in immigration procedures. Complex checking is enforced for safety reasons, and fear has enhanced supervision. Everyone is required to leave a mark in order to enter a “civilized” city. As in Tang Ying-mui’s Taking Finger Fur, human or animal, all need to provide a mark that proves that they are clean and innocent.

The standard weight and size of hand-carried luggage are all listed clearly. In his Life in a Suitcase, William Lim examines the weight of compressing a life in a suitcase. When the suitcase of Chan Kam-shing, Chris passes through the X-ray of luggage inspection system at the airport, the inspector will see the inside of the suitcase which contains a deer and a crane made of sponge (Chinese pronunciation of “deer” and “crane” are similar to the word that means “world”), then how big is the world?

Some people said that geography should be experienced by our body, and text is only supplementary. Lee Mei-kuen, Carol’s Journey Log detaches from text and employs only lines like an electrocardiogram to record the subtle vibration of her journey. Reading is the best solution to deal with tedious waiting when you travel. When choosing a book companion, you may consider the blue Reading the Horizon by Chan Wai-sze, Teresa, and A Dark Travel Guide by Ho Oi-yan, Carol. The former provides a new perspective to reflect on time and distance. The latter uses picture story to depict the journey in an invisible city. In Shanghai, Lam Chi-kwong exhibits his ceramic work Vessels in Blue and White. In the sea, his art container is voyaging through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean and the Gulf, repeating the route of the Maritime Silk Road.

Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour is a natural harbour with deep and sheltered waters. Therefore, it does not surprise us that the British wanted so much to take her away from the hand of the Qing Dynasty. The northwest side of Victoria Harbour has been developed into the most important container terminals in Hong Kong called Kwai Chung Container Port. It is one of the world’s busiest ports. It was where Heung Kin-fung, Alex boarded a cargo ship together with his art container and sailed to Singapore. In the five-day journey on board, he created When Cargo Ship meets a Whale. Fishing at the Victoria Harbour, people might catch Branchiostoma, a type of fish that Choi Wing-sze, Alice mentions in her work. Although the catch from today’s Victoria Harbour is not suitable for consumption, Branchiostoma (it is called “white canvas shoe” in Cantonese colloquial) can still be found floating in the harbour. Hong Kong has transformed from a British colony to a Special Administration Region, from a small fishing village to a cosmopolitan city with a spectacular show of music and light playing every night. Living in a fast-transforming world, do people choose to change or just have no choice? Tang Ying-chi puts black cotton thread on the beautiful organza with a sewing machine, making the soft transparent fabric harder, and using it to make a high-collar zip coat. When the coat is zipped up, people cannot see the eyes of wearer, but the wearer can see the outside world through this transparent fabric. In this society with high mobility, people are moving around all the time. As one of them, are you the one watching or being watched? Is the surrounding environment harmonious or discordant? Are people coexisting or breaking apart from each other?

The Thirteen Stories of Portable Art is an exchange activity for stage two of the Art Container Project. We would like to communicate and exchange with other cites by means of an exhibition. Therefore, each artwork is carried to Shanghai and experiences a “physical” journey. The action has naturally linked the exhibition content with mobility. Using portable artworks as the medium of communication, we link up the time, space and people of north and south.

Art Container Project is a large-scale art project originated from Hong Kong. The first stage includes 38 Hong Kong artists with their paintings on the surface of containers and an exhibition in the West Kowloon Cultural District in May 2008. The second stage will explore the journey of these art containers and their connection with people throughout the world. For details, please visit the website: www.artcontainer.hk

Curators:
Tang Ying-mui
Yu Kei-kei

Participating Artists:
Chan Kam-shing, Chris
Chan Wai-sze, Teresa
Cheng Chi-ming, Carl
Choi Wing-sze, Alice
Heung Kin-fung, Alex
Ho Oi-yan, Carol
Lam Chi-kwong
Pauline Lam
Lee Mei-kuen, Carol
William Lim
Tang Ying-chi
Tang Ying-mui