Can artists make a difference? Joanne Ooi thinks so. The co-founder of Ooi Botos art gallery and environmental activist is behind what is billed as 'the first exhibition and auction in Asia of its kind'. The aim is to raise funds for Clean Air Network, a non-governmental organisation set up in 2009 to raise public awareness of the impact air pollution has on this city, and to get the art community involved in promoting the cause.
The group show, featuring more than 30 artworks by 40 local and international artists, will run from tomorrow to March 27 while the auction will be held on April 4 as part of Sotheby's upcoming auction of contemporary Asian art. Nine pieces were created specifically for this event. Many of the works are aimed at getting viewers to think about the serious consequences of pollution. Accompanying the show will also be information addressing some serious questions - did you know Hong Kong's air is three times more polluted than New York's? Last year's roadside pollution was the worst in Hong Kong history? And air pollution sends about 20,000 people to the doctor daily?
Ooi says there are a couple of objectives to the exercise. One is to reach out to members of the local artistic community and to educate them about the basic facts of air pollution. The second is to increase their sense of participation in civic society. The former creative director of Shanghai Tang attended a workshop at a global environmental conference last year and learnt about how culture can 'influence attitude and engineer a shift in attitude in a way that is non-confrontational'.
'That is very appealing,' Ooi says. 'Activism is not something your ordinary person is going to identify with strongly, whereas art is a universally appealing medium and it's a very approachable medium.' She doesn't want to make the event a pure fund-raising endeavour, either. 'I want it to have a deeper rooted effect,' Ooi says.
Amy Cheung Wan-man is among the nine artists who've created a new piece for the auction. Her work, comprising 'one artwork, one manifesto and one proposition', is likely to make an impression. The artist says even the act of creating art can be environmentally unfriendly and she believes in the Buddhist philosophy that we are all responsible for our actions.
'For every action, there will be consequences,' Cheung says. 'So with this new piece, I will document every step of our art-making - from conceptualisation to the final work - and keep a record of the impact each step has on the environment. Documentation of the process is more important than the work itself. This will be a collaborative effort between me, the environmental auditor and the collector.'