HONG KONG, Dec. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Returning to his home city of Hong Kong for his institutional solo exhibition, the award-winning animation director and visual artist Kongkee (a.k.a. KONG Khong-chang) is set to illuminate Tai Kwun, Hong Kong, with a fantastical psychedelic exhibition, transforming the Duplex Studio from 9 December 2023 to 3 March 2024 with an immersive narrative.
"Past / Present / Future / Bleeding / Tearing / Drifting" 2023, three-channel video installation on LED, dimensions variable. Exhibition view from Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk. Courtesy of Tai Kwun, Hong Kong.
By integrating animation, sound, and neon art, the exhibition Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk ponders alternative histories, and tells a new tale about Qu Yuan (c. 339 – 278 BC), a legendary Chinese poet and statesman, whom the Dragon Boat festival celebrates. In Kongkee’s imagination, Qu Yuan is resurrected and catapulted from the ancient Kingdom of Wu into a dystopian future.
In addition to showcasing selected works from the past, Kongkee develops new site-specific works at Tai Kwun, Past / Present / Future / Bleeding / Tearing / Drifting and Time Pause Became Mountain, Time Move Became Water, which reflect upon the contemporary world we inhabit and challenge our perceptions of the past. With a large-scale LED installation and site-specific neon works, the pieces in the exhibition captivatingly explore the desires inherent in traditional narratives and craftsmanship — as well as the ways in which they are informed and transformed by modern technologies.
Kongkee moreover delivers each act of Dragon’s Delusion to Hong Kong, from Preface, Departure to Assassination, presented in sequence for the first time. The animations resurrect the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang — who unified China and whose empire collapsed almost immediately after his untimely death. Revisiting the origins of imperial China against the backdrop of a Hong Kong-inspired cyberpunk cityscape, the piece raises important questions about memory and identity, as well as the true meaning of justice and freedom.
The exhibition was first organised by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and curated by Abby Chen, Head of Contemporary Art and Senior Associate Curator, and this presentation at Tai Kwun is co-curated by Ying Kwok, Senior Curator at Tai Kwun.
Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk
9 December 2023 to 3 March 2024
Tue – Sun: 11am – 7 pm
Closed on Mondays (Except public holidays, in which case the following day would be closed)
Block 01 Duplex Studio, Tai Kwun
Curators: Ying Kwok, Abby Chen
Lead Sponsor: Oriental Watch Company
Learn more: https://qrs.ly/49ffahs
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