Four artists’ contrasting visions of Hong Kong come together in gallery show
Using a variety of mediums, local and expatriate artists interpret Hong Kong life
Four artists, with four very different views of Hong Kong. That is the premise for Hong Kong Dimensions, a group exhibition featuring the works of Alexis Ip, Daphné Mandel, Pete Ross and Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze at Blue Lotus Gallery in Chai Wan from May 12 to June 16.
Showing never-before-seen pieces in mediums including photography, photo collage, drawing, painting and the moving image, the show is a visual journey into the city that also explores space and time, the man-made and the human, and the ultra real and the imagined.
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The collective result is a mesmerising portrait of the city.
Hong Kong-born Ip distorts dimensions with his photos of everyday Hong Kong. “As a result the most ordinary street scenes, like a vegetable or fruit vendor, which people hardly pay attention to, become magical,” Ip says.
French artist Mandel continues to explore the city’s landscape, her curiosity taking her down back alleys using paper and digital moving collages. “This series is about celebrating the back alleys in this overly dense and compact city. I wanted to bring these narrow gaps and urban fractures into the light,” says Mandel.
Hong Kong-born architect and artist Pete Ross is fascinated by how the city’s people interact with the their environment. He uses detailed pen work to define urban structures that represent solidity, and mixes it with free-flow ink to represent the unpredictability of nature.
“The result is often a feeling of transition, frailty and beauty,” he says.
Jacquet-Lagrèze’s work is well known in Hong Kong. His inspiration comes from the geometry of the urban environment and the vivid lives of its inhabitants.
“I mainly focus on extreme urbanisation, local heritage and the relationship between city and nature,” he says.
Hong Kong Dimensions, Blue Lotus Gallery, an Industrial City Phase 1, 60 Wing Tai Rd, Chai Wan. May 12-June 16. https://www.bluelotus-gallery.com/
