WONG Sze Wai
Stone Stealer
Contemporary by Angela Li
G/F, 248 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
18 Nov- 17 Dec,2022
Contemporary by Angela Li is proud to present Stone Stealer, solo exhibition of Hong Kong artist Wong Sze Wai. Wong proposes an investigation of the relationship between memory and consciousness, extending beyond the canvas to an intertwined space of the imaginary and the forgotten. Inspired by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard’s literature La Poétique de l'Espace, Wong guides the audience into a mysterious yet poetical habitat of our inner self. The exhibition opening will be held on Friday, 18 November, 2022 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and will remain on view until 17 December, 2022. The artist will be present during the opening. Corners within a home and abandoned huts in Wong’s paintings are refuges for viewers to return for the exploration of their own inner self. Resonating with Bachelard’s theory that sensory stimulation often invokes people’s fantasies on their surroundings, Wong uses her canvases as the medium for viewers to tap into their dormant consciousness where memories and imagination intertwine. Inspired by ancient mural art and Western painting masters, Wong uses mineral pigments, clay and other materials, adding onto the canvases layer by layer. The textures spawned from the dried clay magnify the paintings’ relationships to space and time, and lead the viewers to a further dimension. To Wong, the stone statues and sculptures, being protagonists of the exhibition, act as witnesses to our history. These items symbolise the stories and transformations of a civilization, carrying the memories of a city. Through the sculptures and statues, we unlock the doorway connecting to our distant memories and travel to another realm. The fences and window frames also become passageways, allowing the viewers to explore the external world that leads onto vast imaginary spaces.
The Missing Operator
A
Art Central Duk Dak Solo Project| Hong Kong Convention Centre
26 May-29 May,2022
Contemporary by Angela Li is proud to participate in Art Central 2022 from 25th to 29th May (preview on 25th May), presenting a group exhibition at Booth #A1 showing the artworks of Kurt Chan, Chan Wai Lap, Cheung Tsz Hin, Fatina Kong, Kwong Man Chun, Lv Shanchuan, Ng Chung, Jacky Tsai, Wu Didi and Angela Yuen, as well as a solo project The Missing Operator by the young Hong Kong artist Wong Sze Wai at Booth #B14. The project debuts Wong’s latest paintings created in the past year. Incorporating Eastern and Western mediums in her oeuvre, Wong explores the infinite visual elements and undiscovered corners in Hong Kong. Fascinated by the untrodden areas of the city, Wong Sze Wai exercises her powerful imagination to construct an idiosyncratic “wonderland of daydream” transcending time and space on her canvases. In Wong’s recent body of works, she envisages the history and by-gone tales of Hong Kong by depicting the overlooked quadrants of the metropolis, aiming to explore the intimate relationship between memory and imagination. Drawing inspirations from the ancient Chinese murals in the Dunhuang Caves and the Medieval murals in Eastern Europe, Wong deploys mineral colors and delicate brushstrokes to render a sense of nostalgia in her artworks, evoking the ruminations of the possible past. Wong’s artworks are closely related to Hong Kong's modern livelihood. Various daily objects, such as blue and white tarpaulin, discarded fences, bricks and plastic chairs, are seen scattered on the undulating hills in the paintings, reminiscent of mystical treasures hidden in the woods to be excavated. Layers of clay applied on the canvases reveal a touch of rawness, which reinforce the otherworldliness and whimsicality of the hidden city spots. Wong's paintings, in this sense, turn into tranquil yet spirited lands of wonder, bursting with the vitality of human lives. By exhibiting the untrodden haven of mysteries with a futuristic vision, the artist invites her audience to leave behind the complications of society, view the material world with a peaceful mind and roam the intersecting realms of reality and imagination. In turn, Wong brings us onto a soul-searching journey that allows us to reflect upon ourselves, and ponder on our relationships with the greater spectacle.
