Foreword in "I call you Nancy" catalog
1 May, 2012
written by Amelia Johnson
An active young visual artist, Tang Kwok Hin
is a rising star of the Hong Kong art scene. His work is attracting interest
from collectors and curators alike and he is fast becoming one of the most
talked about Hong Kong artists of his generation. Whilst studying Fine Art at
the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tang became fascinated by the relationship
between nature and urban development in Hong Kong. Through his work, he aims to
examine objects and images and how their meanings have been altered by
urbanisation and human development in this age of technology. His thought
provoking work is heavily infused with local flavour, often incorporating
photographs that are taken near his house in one of Hong Kong’s last remaining
walled villages.
“I Call you Nancy” is a project based on the
life of the artist’s fictitious sister, consisting primarily of Tang's
signature collage works as well as two sound & video works. Taking as a
starting point an intensely personal decision made by his mother many years ago
to terminate a pregnancy, Tang creates an imagined sister and weaves together
25 years of memories to create a life for a sister he never knew. Each work
within this installation is designed to represent a key stage or important
memory in his sister’s life. Using ready-made elements appropriated from
printed and electronic media and his own photographs, Tang creates a glimpse
into the life of this one cherished yet unknown person. The artist presents
Nancy’s life as a series of narratives layered between plates of glass, a
technique that distorts the overall visual impression and lends these pieces a
ghostly, intangible air. Drawing inspiration from images commonly associated
with the ‘ideal family’ and popularized by contemporary culture, film and
media, Tang uses Hong Kong, its local people, natural landscape, landmarks and
institutions as inspiration to construct beautiful, carefully layered works
with poetic undertones. Individually these pieces are visually striking works
in their own right but collectively they create a poignant and unsettlingly
intimate portrait of a person that the artist has only ever met in his
imagination. As much a comment on China’s one child policy, introduced in 1978,
and how this pervaded into Hong Kong culture simultaneously, the works in this
installation also afford a snapshot view of how a child born in the politically
stable and affluent, economic boom times of 1980’s Hong Kong has developed and
grown up here. Highly stylised, contemplative and full of substance, they
provide a window to the aspirations and sensitivities of Tang as an artist.
Amelia Johnson Contemporary is extremely
proud to present this solo exhibition of Tang Kwok Hin at Mandarin Oriental,
Hong Kong as a part of ART HK 12. By deconstructing and reconstructing symbols
and texts in common currency, his work responds to modern living, the world of
the Internet and the ties between the two. These intricately detailed imaginary
narratives about the life of his ficticious sister, Nancy draw the viewer
inward and invite them to reflect on their own family history, experiences and
memories. Interesting stories are being created under varied circumstances,
unlimited possibilities are waiting to be discovered and transformed.
