Hong Kong exhibition taps into the effects of violence and gender using fantasy, humour and pain

A new exhibition at Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong’s Central district takes a fresh look at violence and gender. Some noteworthy artworks stand out for their refreshing take on the issue, but others are awkward fits that blur the exhibition’s focus.

“The idea was how much gender and the construction of that can be a violent power,” says Susanne Pfeffer, curator of “Performing Society: The Violence of Gender”, which features works from 11 international artists.

She explains that violence is as much about physical acts as it is about invisible borders and structures that exist to keep gender norms in place.

“For me, it’s important to pick works that aren’t just showing the actual state, but a way of dealing with it. The works, in a certain way, are empowerment. That’s already a gesture in itself,” says Pfeffer, who is also the director of Museum Fur Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany.

British artist Marianna Simnett takes on both in The Udder (2014), a short film based on Saint Aebbe, a nun who cut off her nose to avoid being raped. The film, which is painful to watch, features a young girl who disfigures herself while her two younger brothers plot against her.