It's difficult to associate Chow Kam-wing, or Cockroach as he prefers to be called, with his first solo exhibition, Cockobot. In person, Cockroach seems quiet and unassuming so all his weird and wacky ideas must be stored in his head.
Cockobot is the new installation exhibition taking place at Agnes B's Librairie Galerie on Elgin Street. When you first enter the gallery, you are greeted by an army of skinny and colourful plastic figures.
Look further and you will see a giant silver robot occupying most of the ground floor. The basement is even more fun. Toys travel along on a gigantic metallic toy train. The gallery has become a playground.
'I want people to have a great time when they come to see my show,' says 31-year-old Cockroach, whose appearance bears no resemblance at all to his namesake. 'I'm sure young people, especially children, will love this show. They will have fun.'
The idea evolved from a series of photos he took two and a half years ago. Cockroach, whose day job is as an advertising creative executive, placed some cardboard robots on street corners and took pictures of them. Friends then suggested he send the pictures to the gallery. After waiting a year and a half for a reply, he finally received a positive response.
'I always wanted to do something more than just advertising,' explains Cockroach, who is also a magazine comics author and the man behind a lot of creative ('silly,' he says) projects.