With a clinical view, Hong Kong art show challenges how we see our bodies
From the moment you step into Blindspot Gallery and are asked to don a white doctor’s gown, its exhibition of work by seven Hong Kong artists challenges the visitor’s perceptions of the human form
Blindspot Gallery’s new exhibition features works by seven artists who have used very different media to tackle the same issue: how do you use art to break down hardened social norms about the human body?
The exhibits range from drawings and videos to the more unusual materials of human hair and LED-lit optical glass blocks, which is a departure for a gallery that has focused on exhibiting photography in its five-year history.
A clinical, detached air runs through the first part of a show that parodies the objectification of bodies.
On arrival, visitors are asked to put on white doctors’ gowns – uniforms that usually confer authority, but here, it literally cut you down to size, as they are all standard, Asian woman medium-sized.
Thus snuggly outfitted, visitors are asked to view the seven artists’ works in the order determined by curator Caroline Ha Thuc.
Chong, a Hong Kong-born artist based in Berlin, has always been interested in exploring reactions to the physical and psychological proximity of others. A rather unnerving example are close-up photographs (Equilibrium No.6 – Distance) of one of his eyes pressing down into his then-girlfriend’s, and the drop of tear that had spilled out from hers.