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Cheung Hok-hang

Shortly after Hong Kong opened up its borders following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong-based curator Chris Wan Feng presented a two-part exhibition called “Blue Throat” in Shenzhen, southern China, featuring the works of Hong Kong contemporary artists.
It was, he said, an attempt to create more cross-border exchanges because the two cities did not really understand each other despite their proximity.
A new group exhibition curated by Wan at Shenzhen’s Mangrove Gallery continues this dialogue.
This time, the focus is on diaspora artists who are among the many Hong Kong people who have either emigrated in recent years or are spending part of the year away.
The title of the show, “Hong Kong Qi”, is inspired by a photograph taken by Shanghai-based photographer Hua Jian, also known as “btr”, during a visit to Hong Kong, Wan says.
The photograph shows a sticker that an anonymous street artist has stuck on a lamp post with the Chinese words “Hong Kong Qi” above a picture of the city’s skyline.
Politics, in a way, is a desire too, and we react to it in various ways, including protests. These reactions are innate
Shawn Pakhin Tang of fish tank, a Germany-based art collective
The Chinese character qi can mean vital energy, air, steam or anger, and is used in the exhibition to reflect the vibe of the city.
The exhibition at Shenzhen’s Mangrove Gallery has a dual meaning: it reflects on how Hong Kong artists who have left think of the city today, and asks what mainland Chinese audiences think is representative of Hong Kong’s spirit.
Visitors first see Zheng Tianyi’s transformation of the gallery’s front entrance into a synthetic beach scene, complete with coconut tree sculpted from polyurethane foam, half-upturned waterbed and neck cushion. There is a silhouette of a person reclining and a video installation.
This scene, a stereotypical tropical setting, evokes the idea of islands in Asia, like the ones in Hong Kong, especially as seen through the eyes of Europeans, the artist said.
Zheng, who was born in Hubei, central China, lived in Hong Kong and is currently based in the Netherlands, is typical of the six Hong Kong diaspora artists in the show in her fragmented world view and its influence on her work.
Zheng said a video piece called The Ship of Fools Never Returns (2023) was inspired by an allegory of Plato’s. While the ancient Greek philosopher had imagined a ship getting lost because of its inept crew, Zheng said the work conveys her sense of displacement and disconnection.

Once you enter the main exhibition area, a feeling of calm washes over you which is quite unlike the frantic pace of life in Hong Kong.
A meditative hum emanates from Joseph Leung Mong-sum’s installation Elongation. Leung, who splits his time between Hong Kong and Vienna, has borrowed the familiar sound of Facebook notifications and turned it into a chime reminiscent of a meditation bell, offering a commentary on the pervasive influence of social media in modern life as well as the comfort of family and friends afar.
Adding to the tranquil ambience is Man Mei-to’s Moon for Bulb and Candle, an installation where a yellow light bulb positioned behind a rounded glass sculpture creates a moonlit effect. The glass orb, with its subtly pointed end, is a metaphor for a candle.

Both Man, who divides her time between Hong Kong and London, and the Germany-based art collective fish tank – comprising Jennifer Yue Yuen Yu and Shawn Pakhin Tang – use their work to explore and reassess their physical and emotional ties to their city.
In Man’s piece Skin Line-III, plaster casts of urban elements from various parts of Hong Kong are placed side by side with moulds of her own body parts.
In the video installation Muk6 Hak1 (2023), which means “seeing darkness” in Cantonese, Tang and Yu recorded the images reflected on their pupils as they watch found footage including scenes of street protests in Hong Kong and the historic handover ceremony between the UK and China in 1997.

“We chose footage with sharp contrasts of light and dark to make ours and the audience’s pupils dilate and constrict,” Tang explains. “The sequence starts with natural scenes and gradually shifts to things we desire as humans.
“Politics, in a way, is a desire too, and we react to it in various ways, including protests. These reactions are innate, like the dilation and constriction of our pupils.”
New Zealand-born Mark Chung’s recent works are driven more by his own personal journey. “I used to enjoy creating art with found objects and breaking things down,” he says. “But now I want to capture the passage of time with my work.”

Graft is a marble sculpture of a half-eaten apple, symbolising the bond he shared with his late grandmother.
Hong Kong Qi does not follow a coherent narrative; the only common thread linking the artists is that each of them left the city in 2022. Yet the show succeeds because of the strength of each individual artist’s work.
Curiosity about and appreciation for Hong Kong artists are strong in Shenzhen. The artists were astonished when the gallery owner told them half the exhibited pieces had sold within first few hours of the show opening. Leung said he had never seen video installations sell so quickly in any of the Hong Kong exhibitions he had taken part in.
“Hong Kong Qi”, Mangrove Gallery, No. 110, South Square, One Shenzhen Bay, Shenzhen, China, Wed-Sat, 12pm-6pm. Until Oct. 26.


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A partial view of video installation Elegy of Resonance by Shawn Pakhin Tang, an artist who divides his time between Germany and Hong Kong, at Mangrove Gallery in Shenzhen. Photo: Mangrove Gallery

A work (left) by Joseph Leung Mong-sum called Untitled (tree), and on the right Skin line – III by Man Mei-to at Mangrove Gallery. Photo: Mangrove Gallery

Moon for Bulb and Candle by Man Mei-to, an artist who divides her time between London and Hong Kong. Photo: Mangrove Gallery

A still from video installation Muk6 Hak1 by the artist duo fish tank, on show at Mangrove Gallery, Shenzhen. Photo: Vimeo

Graft, #1 by Mark Chung, an artist born in New Zealand and raised in Hong Kong, Photo: Mangrove Gallery

Lifestyle

Arts

Human desires, the comfort of family and friends, a sense of displacement among ideas conveyed by art on show at Shenzhen’s Mangrove Gallery


Human desires, the comfort of family and friends, a sense of displacement among ideas conveyed by art on show at Shenzhen’s Mangrove Gallery.


Greater Bay Area: Travel & Lifestyle