https://www.scmp.com/rss/502134/feed Aaina Bhargava joined the Post 2019-2020 after working as an Editor for the online art platform CoBo Social. She studied Art History, specialising in contemporary art, and has extensive experience working for a range of art institutions. She has contributed to art/design publications including Design Anthology, Artomity, Asian Art News. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava In preparation for her first trip to Hong Kong, artist Nicole Eisenman has been watching a lot of 1990s Wong Kar-wai films. One in particular, Fallen Angels (1995), fully captivated the artist. “It’s the night time … the whole movie feels so dark,” says Eisenman of the neo-noir crime drama. “I know it sounds ridiculous, trying to learn about a city by watching a movie, but my idea of Hong Kong is very tied up with Wong Kar-wai right now. Everything seems to take place at night, and this darkness... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3348600/how-wong-kar-wais-noir-films-inspire-nicole-eisenmans-hong-kong-view?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3348600/how-wong-kar-wais-noir-films-inspire-nicole-eisenmans-hong-kong-view?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 07:15:10 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Art Basel Hong Kong remains the leading fair and art event in Asia when it comes to discovering prominent, established and upcoming artists, particularly those who are from Asia or its diaspora. With the new sector, Echoes, featuring curated presentations by three artists or collectives as well as the Asia debut of Zero 10 dedicated to digital art, here is our selection of artists to look out for at the forthcoming fair. Aya Shalkar and Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu Art from Central Asia has been... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3347695/art-basel-hong-kong-previews-open-today-here-are-9-artists-look-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3347695/art-basel-hong-kong-previews-open-today-here-are-9-artists-look-out?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 22:00:16 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava The Gulf is teeming with contemporary art. While high-profile arrivals like February’s Art Basel Qatar and the upcoming Frieze Abu Dhabi grab the spotlight, neighbouring Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale – closing on May 2 – has quietly matured into an established, home-grown platform now in its third edition. The biennale in Diriyah, just outside Riyadh, is the result of Vision 2030, a major strategic pivot launched in 2016 by the Saudi government and Crown Prince Mohammed bin... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3345097/saudi-arabias-diriyah-contemporary-art-biennale-2026-shows-kingdoms-cultural-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3345097/saudi-arabias-diriyah-contemporary-art-biennale-2026-shows-kingdoms-cultural-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 07:26:12 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava If there’s one piece of advice Andre Agassi offers, it’s to dream while awake. “It’s way too easy to dream when you’re sleeping,” says the American tennis legend. “Don’t be scared to dream big because it takes as much effort to dream big as it does small.” He advises choosing your definition of success carefully. Even if you achieve it, it might not feel the way you expected. Fresh off his run as Laver Cup captain, Agassi was in Hong Kong in October for the Prudential NextGen Aces event, a panel... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3334499/andre-agassi-hong-kong-his-comeback-and-learning-live-present?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3334499/andre-agassi-hong-kong-his-comeback-and-learning-live-present?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 21:00:08 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava For Dr Maria Mok Kar-wing, staging an exhibition of more than 500 priceless items tickled her maternal instincts. “It was more like handling 500 babies,” says the director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) of organising “Engaging Past Wisdom: Min Chiu Society at Sixty-five”. “The collectors are their parents and these treasures are their babies.” Never mind that some of them are thousands of years old. The infants in question are, in fact, Chinese antiques, and their “parents” as such are... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3333235/inside-hong-kong-collectors-society-treats-its-antiques-babies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3333235/inside-hong-kong-collectors-society-treats-its-antiques-babies?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 06:00:12 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Aryna Sabalenka is living her best tennis life – travelling the world, eating well, soaking up the sun and winning big. Most recently, she took home the 2025 US Open title after a season marked by triumphs and near misses. “It’s a great feeling,” says the world No 1. “It’s just fun to be here, to travel around the world, to compete and win. All of it. I’m just really enjoying my tennis life.” Sabalenka is in Hong Kong for the Prudential NextGen Aces panel and exhibition match, speaking about... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3330242/aryna-sabalenka-loving-hong-kong-steffi-graf-and-inspiring-young-players?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3330242/aryna-sabalenka-loving-hong-kong-steffi-graf-and-inspiring-young-players?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 10:32:11 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava One would think the most common place to find a sex tape these days is buried in the untraceable corners of the dark web. But artists Alexandra Batten and Daniel Kamp had a different idea about what to do with their own amorous film: they saved it on a USB drive and encased it in a transparent glass coffee table. Then they exhibited it. Despite the performative nature of the work – they filmed the tape specifically for the show – there’s no real divide between collaborators and couple Batten and... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3329785/art-intimacy-how-batten-and-kamp-turn-their-relationship-sculpture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3329785/art-intimacy-how-batten-and-kamp-turn-their-relationship-sculpture?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 09:30:12 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Ewa Partum would have you believe that she’s a stupid woman, or at least guilty of what 1980s Polish society deemed frivolous female behaviour. Dressed in nothing but high heels, red lipstick and a string of light bulbs, the artist would enact the trope of a silly drunken woman in front of a scandalised audience in 1981 – running around and dancing, flirting with men, giggling, pretending to stumble and fall. An image from this performance was captured and set in a light box. It’s currently in... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3329417/outrageous-subversive-often-nude-ewa-partums-art-arrives-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3329417/outrageous-subversive-often-nude-ewa-partums-art-arrives-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:15:08 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Alejandro Piñeiro Bello has been dreaming – a lot. Not in the nap-all-day sense, but in the hermit-in-his-studio sense, tapping deep into his subconscious for his latest exhibition. “I was so hyper-focused on dreaming,” says the Miami-based Cuban painter. “I was like the stereotypical idea of an artist who’s withdrawn from society just to be in the studio and create from the world of his imagination.” To say Piñeiro Bello’s imagination is vivid barely scratches the surface. Surreal, charged... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3328184/cuban-painter-alejandro-pineiro-bellos-dreamscapes-light-hong-kongs-pace-gallery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3328184/cuban-painter-alejandro-pineiro-bellos-dreamscapes-light-hong-kongs-pace-gallery?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 04:45:07 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava What does James Acey miss most about the way we used to listen? Liner notes. “I feel it adds more context,” he says of the artist thank yous and notes once found inside CD or vinyl sleeves. “I know not everyone is an album person, but if you can in some way connect the digital listening experience to the analogue listening experience, that could engage audiences in more meaningful ways.” For Acey, listening has never just been about sound. It’s about context, too. Social, historical, cultural:... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3326499/eaton-hks-music-director-james-acey-nurturing-talent-and-community-hong-kongs-music-scene?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3326499/eaton-hks-music-director-james-acey-nurturing-talent-and-community-hong-kongs-music-scene?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 07:15:09 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Kary Kwok Ka-che encourages people to pose nude at least once in their lifetime. “I think everyone should have the experience of being naked in front of a camera,” he says. “It gives you a whole new perspective on yourself. It’s not like looking in the mirror.” Artist, editor, curator, Kwok wears many creative hats, but is best known for photography. From documenting queer nightlife in London and Hong Kong in the 1980s and 90s to his paradoxically bold yet vulnerable self-portraits, over the... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3326460/nudes-nightclubs-and-nostalgia-kary-kwok-life-behind-lens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3326460/nudes-nightclubs-and-nostalgia-kary-kwok-life-behind-lens?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 05:15:08 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Lean Lui appears at the door of her sunny Kwun Tong studio wearing a purple-and-black chequered raw-silk dress. Its neckline and torso are fashioned after a cheongsam, buttoned and fitted until the waist where it gives way to a voluminous skirt. Much like her photographs, the garment is feminine, balancing old-world charm and a contemporary edge. “I just bought the material from the old textile shops in Western Market, which are all about to close,” says Lui, concerned about the fate of its many... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3323481/self-taught-hong-kong-photographer-who-caught-eye-art-and-fashion-greats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3323481/self-taught-hong-kong-photographer-who-caught-eye-art-and-fashion-greats?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 11:00:12 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava As a child, Parker Fay lived in a kind of wonderland, surrounded by giant fruit, seeds, bones and replicas of other organic forms. For him, this was the norm. “I almost thought of them as furniture,” Parker says about the creations of his father, the late Chinese-American sculptor Ming Fay. “I only began to understand the significance of their impact when I saw my friends’ reactions to the space.” Known for his fantastical papier-mâché creations as well as prominent public art projects across... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3321989/how-leslie-cheung-was-fan-late-chinese-american-sculptor-ming-fay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3321989/how-leslie-cheung-was-fan-late-chinese-american-sculptor-ming-fay?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Aug 2025 23:15:12 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Freddy Carrasco is in the midst of an existential awakening when I arrive at his studio, tucked away in an unassuming walk-up building in Tsim Sha Tsui. It’s a scorching Hong Kong summer day. Inside, cool air blasts from air conditioning and high ceilings offer relief from the heat, while exposed red brick and dangling vintage “Edison” light bulbs create an industrial feel. But it’s the view outside – glimpses of Kowloon’s dense skyline veiled by bamboo scaffolding and green mesh – that... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3318224/how-artist-finds-sci-fi-inspiration-bamboo-scaffolding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3318224/how-artist-finds-sci-fi-inspiration-bamboo-scaffolding?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 07:15:07 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava In Hong Kong, no studio bends the rules of clay quite like the one Julie Progin and Jesse Mc Lin have built in Chai Wan. Inside the 3,500 sq ft industrial warehouse, some vases appear to ooze frozen liquid; others erupt in otherworldly forms – futuristic landscapes in shades of blue, grey and violet. Elsewhere, perforated surfaces mimic coral or scholar rocks, emerging from a sea of porcelain. Progin and Mc Lin met in New York and launched their first ceramics brand, Latitude 22N, in Brooklyn.... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3316923/meet-artists-remoulding-rules-working-clay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3316923/meet-artists-remoulding-rules-working-clay?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 03:15:08 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava It’s rare to catch artist and photographer South Ho Siu-nam in front of the camera, but when you do, it turns out he’s quite a natural. “I know what to give the photo­grapher,” says Ho, breaking his searing camera-ready gaze with a playful smile and breezy confidence. “I know all the tricks.” On the roof of Wah Luen Industrial Centre, in Fo Tan, Ho poses against a lush mountainous backdrop dotted with industrial warehouses and housing complexes. His studio is 11 floors below. “It’s great feng... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3311347/artist-south-ho-talks-about-his-work-and-new-solo-exhibition-wandering-daily?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3311347/artist-south-ho-talks-about-his-work-and-new-solo-exhibition-wandering-daily?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 May 2025 00:00:09 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Impulse purchases can cause regret, but for Dominique Fung, that’s far from the case. An accidental click of the mouse at an online Sotheby’s sale led the artist to acquire a Qing dynasty silk embroidered carpet that now serves as an integral component of her most recent exhibition, “Beneath the Golden Canopy”, at Hong Kong’s Massimo de Carlo gallery. Initial panic at her purchase eventually transformed into satisfaction. “I just bought a Qing dynasty carpet. How insane is that?” says Fung,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3309375/how-artist-transforms-historical-chinese-symbolism-paintings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3309375/how-artist-transforms-historical-chinese-symbolism-paintings?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 May 2025 04:45:13 +0000 Art Basel Hong Kong is back with its gargantuan offering of contemporary art by known and rising artists from the region and beyond. Among the multitude of paintings, installations, sculptures and multimedia works presented by over 240 galleries from 42 countries and territories, historical artworks are emerging as highlights. This is perhaps partly indicative of an economic slowdown that favours safer and more conservative collecting choices over riskier contemporary art purchases. Starting... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3304200/how-art-basel-hong-kong-reclaiming-overlooked-artists-legacies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3304200/how-art-basel-hong-kong-reclaiming-overlooked-artists-legacies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Mar 2025 04:45:08 +0000 The former Royal Air Force Officers’ Mess is a quaint 20th-century colonial structure with subtle but distinctive features: a faded laurel green roof, pale blue shutters and doors, towering old trees, steep stone staircases and a grassy courtyard-like space. Nestled in the hills off Kwun Tong Road, the building is home to Baptist University’s Academy of Visual Arts, where the high-ceilinged, spacious rooms lend themselves to learning about and creating art. It’s also where local artist Nadim... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3304041/art-central-nadim-abbas-plays-space-and-mediation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3304041/art-central-nadim-abbas-plays-space-and-mediation?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Mar 2025 05:30:12 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Artist Bouie Choi Yuk-kuen is in the midst of a creative dilemma when I arrive at her studio, tucked away on the eighth floor of the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei. “I can’t decide what to do with this now,” Choi says, referring to a large wooden panel upon which she has etched the image of a bird. “It’s a black-faced spoonbill, a migratory bird that’s found in Hong Kong and a few other places. It was inspired by a childhood memory – in primary school I once dressed up as a... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3302168/bouie-choi-blends-nostalgia-and-nature-art-basel-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3302168/bouie-choi-blends-nostalgia-and-nature-art-basel-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Mar 2025 03:00:09 +0000 “Operating at the intersection of art and technology” is a near-ubiquitous phrase, often trotted out to define the work of digital artists. Ambiguous and overused, yes, but it’s also where South Korean media artist Inhwa Yeom draws the most freedom. “I don’t think you should have to choose between learning one or the other,” says Yeom. “They’re both just forms of expression.” For Yeom, “new” and “old” are equally fraught. “I don’t even like to call myself a ‘new’ media artist,” she says. “I... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3301265/artist-put-audiences-centre-her-digital-creations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3301265/artist-put-audiences-centre-her-digital-creations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Mar 2025 10:00:10 +0000 Gia Fu first came across the classic 1957 film Mambo Girl during her short tenure at director Wong Kar-wai’s production company, Jet Tone Films, where she managed the company’s social media. This inspired Fu to rewatch Wong’s films, and she discovered Latin songs the auteur director had featured in soundtracks for Happy Together (1997) and In the Mood for Love (2000). “I was curious why he used Spanish songs,” says the Hong Kong DJ and founder of Latin event series Canton Mambo. Through a 2001... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3300185/chinese-and-latin-music-unlikely-perfect-match?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3300185/chinese-and-latin-music-unlikely-perfect-match?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:15:14 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava At a live DJ event one Friday night in January, roughly 600 people at Soho House Hong Kong in Sheung Wan grooved to electronic dance music (EDM) interwoven with a distinctly South Asian sound. Periodically, Bollywood anthems such as Patakha Guddi and Chaiyaa Chaiyaa, and Maghron La from season 15 of TV music show Coke Studio Pakistan, emerged over the house beats. The crowd’s approval shone as they enthusiastically sang along to the recognisable hits. This fresh sound was courtesy of Armaan... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3298644/playing-coachella-2025-edm-duo-indo-warehouse-spotlight-south-asian-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3298644/playing-coachella-2025-edm-duo-indo-warehouse-spotlight-south-asian-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Feb 2025 23:15:10 +0000 Samuel Swope encountered his then class­mate, now wife, Sarah Lai Cheuk-wah’s work before he’d even met her. Hailing from Missouri, the American artist was in Hong Kong attending Chinese University as a visiting fellow in 2006. “I was wandering around campus before classes and started exploring the studios, where I came across her painting. It moved me immediately. There was a sensitivity to it that struck me,” Swope recalls, describing a figurative painting that foreshadowed the portrait-driven... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3297762/husband-and-wife-artist-duo-are-finally-doing-their-first-collaborative-exhibition-after-19-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3297762/husband-and-wife-artist-duo-are-finally-doing-their-first-collaborative-exhibition-after-19-years?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2025 07:15:08 +0000 Nicole Wong is curious about our curiosity. “Crystals, jewels, reflective surfaces – why are we so attracted to shiny objects?” she asks. I meet the Hong Kong artist as she’s gearing up for her solo exhibition, “Once it Sets”, at the Rossi & Rossi gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, where she explores the process of crystallisation and notions of ambiguity and fixedness, to understand how things become established, or “set”. Through her work, Wong poses philosophical questions associated with time,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3290122/how-hong-kong-artist-nicole-wong-crystallises-philosophical-ideas-sculptural-works?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3290122/how-hong-kong-artist-nicole-wong-crystallises-philosophical-ideas-sculptural-works?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Dec 2024 06:26:28 +0000 “What’s your star sign?” That was the first question the artist Mak Ying-tung 2 asked me when we were introduced in the spring of 2020. After excitedly confirming our initial compatibility – my star sign corresponds with her rising sign (the sign that was rising on the eastern horizon the moment a person was born) – she then asked what my own rising, Mercury, Venus and Mars signs were (where each of these planets were the moment I was born). Fortunately I was able to give her what was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3157982/tarot-astrology-feng-shui-why-hong-kongs-art-world-going?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3157982/tarot-astrology-feng-shui-why-hong-kongs-art-world-going?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Dec 2021 11:15:07 +0000 Works by Hong Kong artists are showing in commercial galleries in the city that ordinarily only sell art from overseas, under an initiative by the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association. This comes at a time of unprecedented interest in Hong Kong culture. The city is enduring a difficult transformation, which has spurred creativity. Hong Kong artists have been reflecting on the city and its circumstances, often in subtle ways. Examples of their work are on view in Wong Chuk Hang at Axel Vervoordt... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3142548/recent-hong-kong-history-sars-epidemic-umbrella-movement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3142548/recent-hong-kong-history-sars-epidemic-umbrella-movement?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jul 2021 06:45:16 +0000 British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye is bringing a new dimension of his creativity to Hong Kong – sculpture. His marble artworks feature in a joint exhibition at Pace Gallery, Hong Kong, from May 18, along with the distinctive text-based paintings of New York-based African-American artist Adam Pendleton. Opening just before Art Basel Hong Kong, the exhibition reflects their shared sensibility. The artists’ work challenges viewers to rethink how they see history and identity and how they... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3133361/architect-david-adjayes-marble-sculptures-paired-adam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3133361/architect-david-adjayes-marble-sculptures-paired-adam?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 May 2021 06:45:11 +0000 A snow globe shaped like an ambulance siren encasing a glass Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building stands starkly against a blurred background of red flowers. Alarm bells sound as the image slowly turns into that of a forlorn, bespectacled man wearing a crestfallen expression. The scene, a metaphor for the pitfalls of pursuing the American dream, captures the essence of the short film Magic Kingdom, directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Nelson Ng Chak-hei and co-written by Nicholas... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3129307/promise-new-life-america-chinese-children-explored-short?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3129307/promise-new-life-america-chinese-children-explored-short?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Apr 2021 11:15:05 +0000 A life-size model of a medieval wooden trebuchet (a medieval catapult) projects squelchy black cannonballs across a room. Made from bone black pigment and lard, these missiles create an abstract painting when smashed against the wall, and leave a trail of remnants oozing down to the floor, where what seem to be lumps of flesh appear to purr. An installation by Los Angeles-based artist Candice Lin, A History of Future Contagion (2019) alludes to the rumoured origin of the Black Death, a bubonic... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3128205/candice-lin-chinese-american-artist-her-first-solo-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3128205/candice-lin-chinese-american-artist-her-first-solo-show?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Apr 2021 10:15:16 +0000 Small independent art spaces and pop-up exhibitions have been sprouting up with more frequency all over Hong Kong in the past year. The reason? Many younger artists and creatives are moving into retail spaces left empty by the Covid-19 pandemic. They’re taking the opportunity to collaborate and experiment on their own terms, free of the creative confines of commercial galleries, international art fairs and cultural institutions that have long defined the local art scene.  Alberto Gerosa,... https://www.scmp.com/culture/article/3122236/independent-art-finds-room-flourish-hong-kong-young-artists-and-creatives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/article/3122236/independent-art-finds-room-flourish-hong-kong-young-artists-and-creatives?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:15:08 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava A massive metal X marked the spot this summer for one of Beijing’s latest art world openings: a sculptural entryway to the double-storey X Museum in the buzzing Chaoyang district. Like almost every other event in 2020, it was delayed, but despite Covid-19 locking down the Chinese capital for most of the first half of the year, this vernissage opened to much fanfare. China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration counts more than 5,100 museums across the country, and rising, almost double the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3112430/rich-millennials-shaking-chinas-art-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3112430/rich-millennials-shaking-chinas-art-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Dec 2020 01:15:14 +0000 For Marie-Louisa Awolaja, a British-Nigerian, life in Hong Kong often means she is highly visible as a black woman, yet simultaneously invisible. “I was surprised at how invisible I was, in a way,” she said. “I expect to be stared at on this side of the world. People don’t necessarily, especially locals, they just carry on – most of the stares you get are from [Chinese] tourists. But when it comes to service, it becomes more evident. They sometimes just don’t acknowledge you. It’s as if you... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3112105/how-racism-and-discrimination-affects-black-people-china-and-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3112105/how-racism-and-discrimination-affects-black-people-china-and-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Dec 2020 21:15:11 +0000 For Marie-Louisa Awolaja, a British-Nigerian, life in Hong Kong often means she is highly visible as a Black woman, yet simultaneously invisible. “I was surprised at how invisible I was, in a way,” she said. “I expect to be stared at on this side of the world. People don’t necessarily, especially locals, they just carry on – most of the stares you get are from mainland [Chinese] tourists. But when it comes to service, it becomes more evident. They sometimes just don’t acknowledge you. It’s as if... https://www.scmp.com/society/if-you-dont-exist-facing-anti-blackness-hong-kong-and-china/article/3112134?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/if-you-dont-exist-facing-anti-blackness-hong-kong-and-china/article/3112134?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Dec 2020 11:12:36 +0000 “It’s Where’s Waldo. I’m looking for my black man, where are you? He doesn’t exist here,” laments Janelle Mims, an African-American expat from New York who recently moved to Hong Kong. “We’re unicorns,” replies Folahan Sowole, a 30-year-old British-Nigerian business development manager also living in the Chinese city. Chicago native Jarius King, a DJ and performing artist who’s lived in Hong Kong for five years, thinks he’s telling his girlfriend’s mother “I’m happy to meet you” in Cantonese –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3110345/racism-feeling-invisible-podcast-black-experience-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3110345/racism-feeling-invisible-podcast-black-experience-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Nov 2020 04:15:16 +0000 Delftware was appropriated from China during the 17th century after Guido da Savino, an Italian potter living in the Netherlands, discovered how to produce cheap copies of Ming dynasty porcelain. Large-scale production took off, with the Dutch versions retaining the Chinese blue-and-white style while creating objects of a more European nature. Remarkably, these were then successfully exported to China. Now a ubiquitous icon of Dutch aesthetics and culture, Delft tiles form the starting point of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3107194/belgian-artist-luc-tuymans-hong-kong-exhibition-plays-made?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3107194/belgian-artist-luc-tuymans-hong-kong-exhibition-plays-made?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2020 06:15:07 +0000 Hit by anti-government protests and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong has undergone a lot of changes since June last year. However, one daily occurrence has remained constant throughout – something that artist Mark Chung finds a little absurd. “One thing that hasn’t changed is the Symphony of Lights – it’s there, eight o’clock every [night],” says the 30-year-old, referring to the light and sound show organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board that projects over Victoria Harbour to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3100047/why-keep-hong-kongs-light-show-going-no-tourists-artist-asks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3100047/why-keep-hong-kongs-light-show-going-no-tourists-artist-asks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2020 09:15:16 +0000 Artist Jes Fan is fascinated by the beautiful and the repulsive. His exploration of the contrast between them leads him to question our standards of beauty, shaped as they are by consumerism. “In the age of Teslas and Brazilian waxes, everything has to be smooth and [without corners]. Beyond feminine beauty, in architecture you see highly digitally rendered curvature,” he says. “Why are we thinking about beauty without edges? It stoops to consumerist needs, it’s a very accessible idea of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3099350/tesla-cars-brazilian-waxes-being-smooth-everything-todays?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3099350/tesla-cars-brazilian-waxes-being-smooth-everything-todays?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Aug 2020 11:30:05 +0000 Finding acceptance in a different country is something artist Christopher K. Ho can relate to. The 46-year-old was born in Hong Kong and moved to the United States when he was four. The issues of belonging and identity run through his work, and are more relevant than ever in a world, and a city, that have become increasingly polarised. Since Donald Trump was elected US president in November 2016, Ho has been spending a lot more time in Hong Kong. While he loves the city and considers it home... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3098015/artist-christopher-k-ho-reflects-identity-meaning-home-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3098015/artist-christopher-k-ho-reflects-identity-meaning-home-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Aug 2020 11:15:12 +0000 This summer, Hong Kong artist Wong Ping should have been in New York for the opening of his solo exhibition at New Museum, which has been postponed to March next year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The delay, however, is not likely to affect the 36-year-old’s rising international trajectory. Wong is known primarily for his vivid animated films that convey dark undertones; Jungle of Desire (2015), for example, features an impotent husband hiding in a wardrobe secretly watching his prostitute... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3097028/hong-kong-artist-wong-pings-darkly-humorous-animated-videos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3097028/hong-kong-artist-wong-pings-darkly-humorous-animated-videos?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Aug 2020 04:45:05 +0000 It’s not every day you see renowned photographer Wing Shya’s stylised Hong Kong imagery outside galleries and magazines, let alone printed across skateboard decks. A vibrant online exhibition and charity auction offers an opportunity to view and buy skateboard decks decorated by artists, designers and celebrities. To celebrate its 150th anniversary, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals in partnership with Sotheby’s auction house is organising the Skateboard Deck Art Online Exhibition cum Charity... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3096453/artists-celebrities-and-designers-decorate-skateboard-decks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3096453/artists-celebrities-and-designers-decorate-skateboard-decks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Aug 2020 08:30:13 +0000 Self-taught, he only started painting after completing a degree course in photography in Hong Kong seven years ago, yet his work quickly earned comparison with the art of modern masters such as Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Edvard Munch. “The eye for detail he had was amazing,” recalls Hong Kong gallerist Claudia Albertini. “He was one of my best students,” says one of his teachers, the artist Leung Chi-wo. On October 2, 2019, Chinese Canadian artist Matthew Wong took his own life on what... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3094068/how-art-sensation-matthew-wong-learned-his-craft-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3094068/how-art-sensation-matthew-wong-learned-his-craft-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jul 2020 23:15:07 +0000 Harmony “Anne-Marie” Ilunga is challenging typical Asian beauty standards upheld in Hong Kong that glorify whiter skin. The 22-year-old Hong Kong model from Congo just started her own modelling agency – representing women of colour. “We are here to celebrate diversity,” Ilunga says. “Everyone knows that Hong Kong is a diverse city, but the diversity is not represented, and more importantly, not celebrated.” The agency forms a part of Harmony HK, the social platform Ilunga set up in 2018. The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3093549/congolese-model-takes-hong-kongs-prejudiced-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3093549/congolese-model-takes-hong-kongs-prejudiced-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jul 2020 04:15:12 +0000 I grew up in Hong Kong. I did all my schooling here. So how is it that I can recall more than 2,400 American soldiers died at Pearl Harbour, but when asked how many Hong Kong civilians lost their lives under Japanese occupation I draw a blank? The finer points of late US president Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal are firmly embedded in my mind, as is the order in which Henry VIII married his wives. But what sparked our city’s 1967 riots? No idea. Or at least, no one taught me about it in school. My... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3092471/hong-kong-history-marked-absent-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3092471/hong-kong-history-marked-absent-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jul 2020 03:30:16 +0000 International art gallery Lévy Gorvy opens its new exhibition in Hong Kong this week with a seminal painting by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The untitled work was created in 1982, the year when the Brooklyn-born street artist began to gain recognition in the art world with his large canvas paintings. It was also a milestone year that marked a shift for the artist from the streets to the studio. Basquiat was funded with space and proper supplies by his new dealer Annina Nosei, and able... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3091947/raw-power-basquiat-show-hong-kong-hes-so-moment-levy-gorvy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3091947/raw-power-basquiat-show-hong-kong-hes-so-moment-levy-gorvy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jul 2020 11:15:08 +0000 Nestled among Tang dynasty horses, stoic Han dynasty figurines, and a 3,000-year-old Neolithic vase is a miniature bust of a woman with a fresh yellow flower tucked behind her ear, protruding from a seashell. This whimsically adorned Ming dynasty artefact is in fact a contemporary artwork by 35-year-old Hong Kong sculptor Leelee Chan. “I wanted to do something fun and playful,” she says of the work, which adds a humorous twist to the dignified displays of funerary art at Bonnie Lai... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3090557/contemporary-relics-sculptor-leelee-chan-showcase-her?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3090557/contemporary-relics-sculptor-leelee-chan-showcase-her?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jun 2020 07:15:13 +0000 “As an artist, I feel the emotional tenor of what it means to be alive right now, and man, is it a moment to be alive,” says artist Lorna Simpson. “What’s also interesting about this moment in lockdown,” she says of the social isolation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, “is that you don’t have the machine of economies at work. People don’t have to rush towards their jobs and responsibilities in the same way, and are given a moment to think and reflect.” Lately that pause has given the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3089473/lorna-simpson-who-knew-coronavirus-would-bring-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3089473/lorna-simpson-who-knew-coronavirus-would-bring-about?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jun 2020 11:15:08 +0000 It took a nine-minute video of a white man kneeling on a black man’s neck, effectively murdering him, for America to collectively admit that racism is a serious issue in the country. According to a poll released last week by Monmouth University, in the US state of New Jersey, 76 per cent of Americans, including 71 per cent of white people, viewed racism and discrimination as a “big problem” in the US, indicating that the outrage we are seeing in the wake of George Floyd’s death is justified. And... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3088443/why-biggest-barrier-overcoming-racism-white-fragility?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3088443/why-biggest-barrier-overcoming-racism-white-fragility?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jun 2020 14:00:16 +0000 Trevor Yeung’s workspace at Fo Tan in Hong Kong’s New Territories is so lush and green, it looks more like a botany lab than an artist’s studio. Where you would expect to find traces of paint and an assortment of brushes, there is soil and rocks. In lieu of a canvas, there is an abundance of flora and fauna. “Some artists spend 15 years studying colour. I’ve spent most of my life studying animals and plants; they are my medium,” says the 31-year-old. “Sometimes, I think I’m just a grumpy old... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3088033/artists-love-plants-helps-him-cope-anxiety-his-art-butterfly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3088033/artists-love-plants-helps-him-cope-anxiety-his-art-butterfly?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jun 2020 07:15:09 +0000 Cloth can reveal much about a culture, offering insights into its people and their lifestyle. While most traditional textiles have been lost to mass production, an ongoing exhibition, “Unconstrained Textiles: Stitching Methods, Crossing Ideas”, provides modern and creative twists on fabric. The sensory-rich show, which runs until July 26 at the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT), in The Mills in Tsuen Wan, presents alternative perspectives on textiles through the eyes of seven... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3087512/what-fabric-can-teach-us-about-societys-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3087512/what-fabric-can-teach-us-about-societys-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Jun 2020 07:30:12 +0000