Altered Ambience
1a space
Until Apr 13
Put together by artist and first-time curator Magdalen Wong, and featuring four Hong Kong-based artists, Altered Ambience suggests the local art scene may be maturing.
Of particular note were works by Yuk King Tan and Nadim Abbas. Tan, whose work has been on show abroad, presents her new project, Helper, involving several Filipino domestic helpers as part of the work.
Drawing attention to their menial, undervalued work and exceedingly controlled lives, Tan examines their labour by completely decontextualising it. The work (which included a live performance on its opening night) was compelling stuff, although the critique was perhaps overly literal and could have been misconstrued as depicting a simple power game played solely at the helpers' expense.