Minding the G(r)a(s)p / To Kai On Benny: Dimensional Civilisation Archeology Project 2.0

Para Site is delighted to present two new exhibition openings this month: the group exhibition Minding the G(r)a(s)p at Para Site and To Kai On Benny: Dimensional Civilisation Archeology Project 2.0 at Art Basel Hong Kong 2022.
 

Minding the G(r)a(s)p
Para Site
Opening reception: May 13, 6–9pm
RSVP required here

The group exhibition titled Minding the G(r)a(s)p features recent works and new commissions by C&G Artpartment, Eastman Cheng, Chow Chun Fai, Jaffa Lam, Lau Hok Shing, Lulu Ngie, and Wong Wai Yin.

The English title of the exhibition Minding the G(r)a(s)p is a triple entendre—gap, gasp, grasp. It is a way to draw attention to the space between seeing and knowing in the exhibition viewing experience and it might be greater than the audience might first realise. The gasp is the surprise when the audience discovers new narratives or ideas when they are able to look beyond preconceived notions related to the seven mid-career artists/artist collectives on view in the exhibition. The exhibition’s curator Celia Ho proposes to the audience to approach each work individually, in order to grasp the significance and context behind each one of them.

The exhibition is an invitation to the audience to engage through a collective experiment that circumnavigates the interpretative lens of the curator. Instead, the audience is encouraged to consider their individual agency as they encounter the stories of each individual artwork. Minding the G(r)a(s)p questions the active versus passive roles of audience, artist, and curator—and seeks to reconfigure the power dynamics between these participants.

Instead of trying to satisfy a particular curatorial thesis, the exhibition originated from the curator’s in-depth conversations with the artists. According to the exhibition’s curator Celia Ho, “the works included in the exhibition are imbued with personal significance for the artists. Some are previously unrealised, others have never been widely exhibited. Yet still are experiments—improvisations in the here and now.” The exhibition aims to allow artistic freedom for the participating artists to realise the works that they most urgently want to create at this particular moment of uncertainty.

To Kai On Benny: Dimensional Civilisation Archeology Project 2.0
Art Basel Hong Kong 2022
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

The exhibition is the sequel to To’s Dimensional Civilisation Archeology Project and stems from the artist’s interest in anime and manga, in which he has noticed references to and inspirations from ancient mythology and religions. As a result, many of the works on view are based on characters and action figures from anime and video games, deconstructed and reconstructed through pottery techniques by the artist to resemble archaeological artefacts.

A newly commissioned work for this exhibition extends beyond tangible mediums in the form of an 8-bit video game that invites the audience to experience the artist’s worldview as characters within the game. Visitors are invited to carry out virtual archaeological excavations, while objects in the game also have their physical counterparts in the exhibition. The exhibition is curated by Celia Ho and Kobe Ko.