Tsang Kin-Wah
The Infinite Nothing, Hong Kong in Venice
Collateral Event of the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia
9 May–22 November 2015
Press preview: 6 May, 9:30am–10:30am
Campo della Tana
Castello 2126-30122
Venice
Italy (Opposite the main entrance of Arsenale)
Hours: 10 am–6 pm (10am–8pm on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 May till 26 September)
Closed on Mondays (except 11 May, 1 June and 16 November)
Tsang Kin-Wah: The Infinite Nothing, Hong Kong in Venice at the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia will feature a series of new video installations by Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-Wah.
The Hong Kong Arts Development Council (ADC) and M+, Hong Kong’s future museum for 20th- and 21st-century visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District, are delighted to announce Tsang Kin-Wah: The Infinite Nothing, a solo exhibition by Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-Wah, in the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia. The M+ curatorial team consists of Doryun Chong, Chief Curator, and Stella Fong, Curator, Learning and Interpretation, with M+ Executive Director Lars Nittve as Consulting Curator.
Conceived specifically for the exhibition, the newly commissioned work, The Infinite Nothing, consists of four stand-alone video installations that, altogether, form a narrative of transformative journeys through stages in life, exploring a perpetual cycle of self-inquiry and discovery. The work brings together a host of philosophical concepts expressed through metaphors and allegories, along with religious symbolisms and popular cultural references.
A devout Christian in his teenage years, Tsang Kin-Wah began to question religious values when he came under the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche’s existentialist philosophy. Developing from this perspective, Tsang’s oeuvre can be characterised as a constant search for meaning and purpose in life—with a full understanding of its potential futility. The conceptual underpinning of The Infinite Nothing is suggested by the title’s reference to Nietzsche’s notorious pronouncement of the death of God: “Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space?”
The video installation will take the viewer on a journey, starting in the midst of a churning river and progressing through the different sections of the exhibition. In the final section, the visitor is led to a door which returns back to the beginning of the journey. The concept of a cycle of self-exploration is instigated: one in which old value systems are replaced by new ones, questioning the possibility of an actualisation of eternal recurrence.
For further information, please contact:
Hong Kong:
West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
press [at] wkcda.hk
Hong Kong Arts Development Council
hkadc [at] hkadc.org.hk
International:
Brunswick Arts
Damian Chandler
T +852 3512 5000 / westkowloonculturaldistrict [at] brunswickgroup.com
