Collected Light – Hong Kong

H QUEEN’S
G/F, 80 Queen’s Road Central
8 March – 6 April 2024

Presented as part of the Henderson Art@Central programme, which runs through March 2024, the exhibition is supported by Women in Lighting and showcases a collective of eight multidisciplinary women artists from diverse cultures, who have each forged visionary paths in their use of light as an artistic medium.

“The exhibition is inspired by architect Zaha Hadid’s innovative legacy and imbued with the spirit of The Henderson, an iconic project for Henderson Land which celebrates both the company’s legacy, and its ambitious vision for transforming the future of Central Hong Kong’s cityscape”, said Kristine Li Keng Yan, Founder of HART and General Manager of Portfolio Leasing (1) Department, Henderson Land.

Remembering A Brave New World by Chila Kumari Singh Burman

The exhibition focuses on ‘light’ as a medium with which to illuminate redefined perceptions of everyday life, memory and identity. Each work acts as a transporter for journeys of reimagining that reflect and refract courage and craftsmanship in artistic creativity. Visitor’s will enter the exhibition from Queens Road Central at the joyful invitation of two fluorescent neon pieces from Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s 2020 commission for the Tate Britain, London; ‘A Brave New World.’ Burman is celebrated internationally for her radical feminist practice that empowers women. In this body of work she drew on multiple cultural influences, from childhood memories of ‘Blackpool Illuminated’ to current pop cultural references, to create flamboyant visual exclamations and positive spiritual imagery that give way to serious contemplation about cultural and social stereotypes.

Corner Relief 45°150° by Betty Ng COLLECTIVE

Also presenting an unconventional approach to neon sign-making inspired by childhood memories of iconic nightscapes – in this case a Hong Kong now in the past – Betty Ng / COLLECTIVE fuses traditional craftsmanship and contemporary aesthetics in her site specific piece ‘Corner Relief’. The work sits at an intersection of sculpture, architecture, and design, exploring new possibilities for how to embrace a sense of place in dialogue with its surroundings.

‘Sword of Damocles by So Wing Po

A desire to preserve heritage and cultural significance through reinvention and a dynamic interplay between elements of tradition and modernity can also be found in ‘Sword of Damocles’ (2024) by So Wing Po. Born into a Hong Kong family of Chinese medicine doctors, So grew up surrounded by medicinal ingredients, transforming them into raw materials for playthings and eventually artworks. The Sword of Damocles tree is a well-known medicinal tree which gains its name from the sword-like pods that hang down from bare branches when the tree is in fruit. When the pods split, round seeds with thin papery wings drift away with the wind like dancing butterflies. The work extends the artist’s earlier Flow series, and her multi-layered interpretation of the self-regulating systems found in nature.

Carla Chan is similarly inspired by nature, creating multimedia installations that oscillate from real to imaginary while challenging the possibilities of media art. The artist has created a new work for the exhibition that immerses the audience in digitally manipulated representations of weather formations. Visualising an abstract dystopian future, ‘xxx’ prompts viewers to contemplate the consequences of extreme weather conditions.

Off the Grid by Jacqueline Hen

Artist and spatial designer Jacqueline Hen investigates the perception of body and space in both physical and digital habitats, using light as a medium to create experiences that highlight how light shapes our understanding of the world around us. In her installation work ‘Off the Grid’, Hen uses architectural form to invite exhibition visitors to contemplate the invisible and tangible aspects of their surroundings, demanding a reconsideration of their spatial perception of space and light. Similarly Raha Raissnia's work, ‘نور’ (Nour), draws inspiration from architectural, natural, and technological forms, employing light as a medium to reveal invisible connections between time and space, and constructing multi-layered realms that traverse past and present, memory and imagination. Taking a very different approach to examining the experience of individuals within spatial environments, artist Sarah Lai presents video work ‘Spotting the Light onto a Light.’  The work depicts a banal desk lamp transformed into an ethereal human silhouette, blurring the boundaries between the object and the self, and evoking a reimagination of the familiar.

Our Colour Reflection by Liz West

At 3 x 5 meters Liz West’s playful and immersive largescale site specific installation ‘Our Colour Reflection’  instantly captivates by evoking a sense of wonder. Engaging audiences in a multisensory experience, numerous mirrored disks reflect light to create a spectrum of hues, bathing the space in vibrant colours and imaginatively bringing the urban vernacular indoors. As visitors explore the installation they encounter their own reflections, establishing a dialogue between participant and architecture, and heightening sensory awareness of the power of light and colour to transform individual experience of space.

The exhibition is curated by Vera Lam – Director of HART, presented with generous support from Women in Lighting and Light Collective, and lighting sponsorship from Forma Lighting.