Outside
In: alternative narratives in contemporary art
9 June to 19 July 2009
The Department
of Fine Arts and the University Museum and Art
Gallery of The University of Hong Kong are delighted
to present an exhibition entitled Outside In:
alternative narratives in contemporary art from
9 June to 19 July 2009. Organized in conjunction
with the conference titled Rethinking Visual
Narratives from Asia: Intercultural and Comparative
Perspectives, the exhibition presents the work
of six young artists to show the narrative potential
of contemporary art today.
The Lahore-based
artists Aisha Khalid and Imran Qureshi were
both trained in the ancient art of Mughal miniatures
but have transformed it from an illustrative
art form into an expressive one. Khalid subverts
the miniature format to create works featuring
optical effects, while Qureshi's delicate brushwork
and gold embellished abstract paintings have
echoes of their earlier precedents. Wilson Shieh
is a local artist who also uses a traditional
visual language, that of Chinese gongbi (fine
line) painting in depicting darkly humorous
and fictional characters that personify aspects
of contemporary urban life in Hong Kong.
Htein Lin is
a Burmese painter and performance artist whose
works in the exhibition are a personal record
of his imprisonment in Burma. Without access
to art materials, the process of making art
in prison became an act of defiance that carried
risks of further punishment. Although working
in a medium that we associate more readily with
documentary or entertainment, Laura Waddington
uses film to investigate themes of displacement.
CARGO is a deeply poetic film, which records
a journey that she took on a cargo ship, following
the lives of those on board and those that they
encountered along the way.
The artworks
of Hong Kong artist Sara Tse reflects upon loss
and memory. By turning iconic items that belonged
to her mother into paper-thin porcelain, Tse
hopes to recover aspects of her own personal
history. In Tse's hands these porcelain artworks
are reminders of how fragile and ephemeral our
own memories are.
The artists Htein
Lin, Wilson Shieh and Sara Tse will take part
in a discussion about their art practise at
the Museum on Wednesday 10 June from 5:30 to
7:00 pm. This event will be conducted in English,
is free and open to the public. All are welcome.
No registration required.
