Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice

Curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA), Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice gently unveils the poetic patterns underlying everyday life through the works of Hong Kong-born artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui. Drawing from the city’s rich cultural heritage and distinct urban environment, the artists reinterpret the aesthetics of daily life through a range of media, creating an evocative series of installations specifically conceived for the Venice Biennale 2026 while documenting a metropolis in constant transformation. 

Engaging in dialogue with In Minor Keys, the theme of the 61st Venice Biennale by the late curator Koyo Kouoh, the artists focus on traces of quotidian experiences that often pass unnoticed, creating new encounters that transform how we perceive the familiar and bridging Hong Kong and Venice by highlighting the shared energy and cadence that connect life in these two distant cities. 

For Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice, Kingsley Ng presents three sets of site-specific installations that transform ordinary urban and household rituals into meditative encounters, offering poetic reflections on the fabric of the city. One of these installations, Laundry Nocturne, responds to his visit to Venice, where he was struck by laundry hanging between buildings—a sight that resonated with his memories of Hong Kong, where such scenes were once ubiquitous. The work evokes this fading urban landscape of Hong Kong, in which rows of clothes were once aired on bamboo poles attached to residential buildings. In the installation, a lone projection of laundry appears in silhouette, accompanied by a soundtrack played on a radio, subtly connecting the two cities across the distance.

Between Ng’s installations, visitors will encounter an imaginative scene directed by Angel Hui, in which she encourages attention to often-overlooked objects and beings—whether a neighbour’s sun-faded window frame or the utilitarian plastic bags embedded in the urban landscape. Hui’s works celebrate Hong Kong’s heritage craftsmanship while blending it with contemporary artistic practice. In I Would Like to Open a Window for You, she presents a hand-crafted iron window, created in collaboration with local traditional metalsmiths. By inviting visitors to notice fleeting details, Hui fosters intimate encounters that reveal the quiet, subliminal flow of urban life.

Artist Kingsley Ng says, “The exhibition is a tribute to the serendipitous encounters within the surroundings we inhabit. My site-specific practice has always sought to cast light on the overlooked, often reconfiguring the familiar through the interplay of light. The set of works presented in the exhibition, evolving from earlier renditions, is a quiet exchange between my impressions of Hong Kong and Venice.”

Artist Angel Hui says, “The exhibition resonates with my ongoing exploration of overlooked utilitarian objects. Through material experimentation, I always reinterpret everyday objects in dialogue with traditional artistic language. The new works continue this trajectory in a more theatrical and contemplative register.”

Dr Maria Mok, Museum Director of HKMoA, explains, “Hong Kong and Venice are linked by more than the fact that they are both ports; they are bound by a shared breath. This exhibition traces the quiet pulse of daily life in these two great metropolises—the subtle alignment of light and shadow and the pause between sounds. It is an invitation to slow down, to observe, to listen and to rediscover the profound wonder hidden in the rhythms of the everyday.”

Like a fermata—a musical breath held at the performer’s discretion—the exhibition invites visitors to slow down and reflect on the subtle rhythms of everyday life, and encourages visitors to notice the small details that shape attention, care, and wonder in the urban environment.

The Collateral Event Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), and jointly organised by the HKMoA and the HKADC.