IN • ATTIC

If one was being asked about his/her feeling towards Hong Kong, what would be his/her possibly answer? Energetic? Monetary? Or crowded? To me, I would say the most impressive element of Hong Kong is definitely the extremely crowded street. In this small but delicate city, every single inch of space cost thousands of money. Four or even five family members living together in a flat about 500 ft is very common. However, the lack of space is not only a social problem but also affecting every individual’s sensation about the concept of space, the use of space and also their own interpretation of space.

Damon Tong and Stephanie Sin are two freshly graduated artists from the Hong Kong Art School. The exhibition “in • attic” is their first show to appear on the stage, in a sense. As Tong and Sin were my classmate when I was in the art school, therefore, to attend this exhibition is somehow a retrospect experience. In this exhibition, both Tong and Sin show a continuous development of their artworks. Since the school day, both of them were very much interested in the investigation of space already, and now their works had arrived in a much more mature level.

Damon’s painting is about his own sensation of a particular space, one of the most significant inspiration was the table with legs but no top in his studio. He then extended the question of “what is a table” and “how does the table communicates with its own space” as the starting point. Unlike all other paintings, the presentation of his work is not a formal one. Tong puts all his small painting on a rack which every single piece of painting is in a horizontal level. Therefore the audiences can now looking at all these painting from the artist perspective, go deeper to the artist’s working environment. Tong successfully bring his audience to his working studio, even though they are actually in a fine gallery.

Sin’s paintings are all about her own experience of a place which she passed by everyday – the Hong Kong Art School. Like all the ordinary people, Sin lives in a tiny space with all her family members. In this tiny space, she transforms what she had seen and experienced into her abstract painting. And later on, after she graduated from the art school, she then extend her inspiration one step further to the window lattice and its surrounding space. Sin walked through the lobby in art school everyday, and it becomes part of her memory. she wants to trace all these repetitive memories and response to these memories on her canvas.

The development of both Tong and Sin ‘s paintings are evoked from their personal everyday life. As a citizen in Hong Kong, Tong and Sin feel the same as you and I do. Their works are not only response to their personal issue, but also to the social issues, the social problem which everybody living in this tiny city are facing. From their paintings, one can see the local artist’s concernment about the social issue and their endeavors of using art as a medium to response to it.

"in • attic"

Exhibition Opening Reception: January 8, 2009, 6–9pm

Exhibition Duration: January 8 - February 21, 2009

Venue: Sin Sin Annex, 53, Sai Street, Central

Pictures of the opening ceremony from Damon Tong: