HONG KONG BESTIARY

HONG KONG BESTIARY
November 29th 2014 to February 28th 2015
Group show with Lam Tung Pang, Carol Lee, Map Office, Angela Su, Yuk King Tan, Tang Kwok-Hin, Adrian Wong, Kacey Wong, Trevor Yeung
Curated by Caroline Ha Thuc
Platform China HK

Opening reception Nov. 29th 6-8pm
Unit 601, Phase 1, Chaiwan Industrial City, 60 Wing Tai Road, Chai Wan Hong Kong

Curatorial statement (excerpt):
We tend to consider animals as a kind of global and undefined entity, an Absolute Otherness from which we can mirror ourselves and define human beings in a paradoxical gesture, claiming both differences and kinship with them. Therefore we usually exploit animals, asking them to speak for us to reflect our society, and to tackle political, social or moral issues Pliny, Plutarch have written about animals for moral purposes, highlighting their non-­‐corrupted and wise nature, while fable makers of all times and modern writers such as George Orwell used them to circumvent censorship.

We imitate their rituals, rules, hierarchy or behaviour to serve our own human purposes, or magnify their beauty to glorify the splendour of nature. But what if they could speak for themselves? What if we could restore an equal communication with them and break down the barriers that separate them from us?

Observing animals from their own points of view, ten Hong Kong artists are here offering the public the opportunity to discover fresh and alternative angles to look at animals. At the age of this new geophysical era called the Anthropocene, this show is an attempt – even though impossible -­‐ to move away from our usual anthropocentricism.