Seen Fifteen is delighted to host an exhibition of work curated by Monica Allende which invites a group of emerging artists to reflect on the current context of Hong Kong through the theme of light. The exhibition takes place across two venues, at Seen Fifteen and also at Safehouse 2, and is part of Peckham 24 festival of contemporary photography 10-12th September.
‘Light’ features artists Caleb Fung, Liao Jiaming, O’Young Moli, Julian, Tang Kwong San, Yuen Nga Chi, Wong Wei-him and Catrine Val. Each offers varied interpretations of the theme while exploring the possibilities of the media of photography, film, performance, and pinhole camera to bring attention to the city’s transforming social climate. A catalogue will be published by Morel to coincide with the exhibition, consisting of six individual saddle stitched books designed by Sarah Boris.
CATRINE VAL: LIGHT MATTERS
Light Matters is an evolving multi-media project created by Catrine Val, referencing the WMA thematic cycle of ‘Light.’ Conceived in 2019, the project reflects Catrine Val’s commitment to creating, through her art-making, platforms of connection and communication for women in different parts of the world, highlighting both their strengths and their challenges within the given gender politics of their societies. For Light Matters, Val originally worked with the concept of interviewing and recording women on the ground in Hong Kong during the protest movements. However, in the face of the changing political and global landscape, Val conceived new ways of connecting with Hong Kong women at this challenging time, and opened new visual and textual channels for their voices to be heard. In these videos and photographs, Val’s subjects use primarily the language of gesture and dance to articulate and illuminate their inner worlds as they navigate the emotional landscapes of Hong Kong at this moment in history.
LIAO JIAMING. DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE BIRDS ARE?
Located in the bustling area of Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Park is secretly known as a cruising spot for gay men wander who look for casual sex. The project observes Kowloon Park as a public space for recreation, as well as a ‘stereotopia’ – a place for a marginalised group to escape from social norms.
“While the notion of ‘Light’ is intrinsically related to photography, determining tone, mood and atmosphere in the process of image making, it also allows for artistic interpretation, whether it is about the dawn of life, or light as a symbol for reason, enlightenment and knowledge and the capacity of humans to develop on a rational level. In Plato’s allegory of the cave, light allows us to see the shadows on the wall. If humans were to leave the cave and venture outside, the light of the sun would let them see the world around them. Light, therefore, means knowledge” Monica Allende
THE EXHIBITION CONTINUES AT SAFEHOUSE 2
Caleb Fung: GLORY 503 In 2019, the anti-extradition law movement erupted in Hong Kong. Life is now filled with feelings of hopelessness, anger and hatred, as one is confounded by graphic images from the news, day after day. Constantly confused by this inescapable reality, the artist uses everyday objects to reconstruct this reality.
Julian O’Young Moli: 1 / 8 Early this summer, a friend of the artist who is a photographer met a kindred spirit online. Just as they were getting ready to meet in person, the social movement broke out in Hong Kong, and the two of them became occupied with their own lives. They began an experiment: until most of the demands of the movement are met, they will only meet in a dark place. The only light source is the flash of an instant camera, as the vague impressions they had of each other from online continue in real life.They kept themselves anonymous, use pseudonyms and obscure their faces in the project
Tang Kwong San and Yuen Nga Chi: Somewhere in Time In the 1950s, public phone booths were installed across Hong Kong by the British Hong Kong Government. As technological advancements have provided city-wide network coverage, the gleams of smartphone screens are seen flitting in the streets. Scattered across the city are disused phone booths that are about one square metre in size, with broken lightboxes inside. The artists wrapped a disused booth in a reflective cover, and added a coin from the colonial era with a hole drilled in it, turning the booth into a pinhole darkroom. Through the inverted images inside the booth, the viewer shuttles back and forth between different landmarks before and after the handover, tracing the endlessly shifting political relationship between ‘deconstruct’ and ‘construction’ in the city.
Wong Wei-him: BURNT BURNT is a photo diary recording the recent social unrest of Hong Kong. All photos were taken using only the first frame of the roll (the frame prior to the camera hitting zero on the frame counter), on a 35mm film camera. Of these ongoing anti-government protests, one incident caught the artist’s attention in particular—a photo of a girl who was shot in the eye during a clash between the protestors and the police in the streets. The vivid image of her injury reveals a partial truth—it shows the result, but not the cause. No one can follow or digest the plethora of news that is being circulated. No one can tell if the news is showing the whole truth, or if it is a collage of fictions.
OPENING NIGHT FOR PECKHAM 24 2021
Late Opening
Friday 10th September
6pm til LATE
LATE VIEW FRIDAY 24th SEPTEMBER
Join us for a late view and closing drinks
6-9pm
OPENING HOURS
Thursday to Sunday 11-5pm