Till the End of the World

Curatorial Note by Tang Ying Chi (translated by TNT)

With the backdrop of globalization, everything has become so familiar and obvious, Hi-Tech and Harmony have dressed up everything with the latest chic, while four female artists paint a different picture of here and now.

With collage of works of the artists, the exhibition seems to have entered the realm of the prehistoric. Tang Ying Mui travelled through space and time and weaved a modern dwelling from the pre-historic thoughts of a modern man, using simple materials and instinctive ways, to regain the individual capability to construct.

In the globalized era, the powerful established exemplars and charters and these have diminshed the ability of people to be self-sufficient. In the work of Monti, Lai Wai Yi, inconspicious genies appear from various corners. They are diminutive and subtle, and yet one could see the artist's hope for something miraculous.

Is this world beautiful or full of dangers? the extraordinary universe and the ordinary people as seen by Monti, the lost wisdom as seen by Tang Ying Mui and the gaps and cracks that Yvette, Fung Suk Ha cares about, all point to the various extends of destruction of the world. Yvette cut up her painting of the land and discovered that it is impossible to piece them back together and recover the original.

Since the beginning of heaven and earth, humankind has always been trying to create a better future. Time has given us the concept of past and future, so that we could reminisce about the past and look forward to the future. Carol, Lee Mei Kuen put her feelings of the past era into flames, and let it be carried through to the next era by flowing water. Time in the globalized era is dynamic, and we seem to be able to see it, for example, during the occasional stoppage of the Internet. We understood clearly that time stood still, and believed that such mishaps could be repaired. But the feelings of reminiscence of the past and the unreachable future are time and again telling us that the passing of time could not be circumvented. Here, the four artists allude on time and humankind.

The exhibition borrows from ancient wisdom to reflect on the globalized world. it concerns itself on the powerless, the individuals and the locals that blindly too-in the concept of technological development, progres and advancement. Till the End of the World does not hint on when will it end, it just shows the individual's effort, and raises the importance of "Making" in the realm of art. In the History of Chinese Culture (note 1), Liu Yizheng borrowed "The intellectual creates and the eloquent illustrates" from the "Treaties on the Examination of Crafts", to illustrate the relationship between creation and making. Making is the realization of creation. It allows an individual to experience and feel with her /his heart, spirit and mind. Wong Lai Ching has been working with pottery for years and she shared the importance of understanding the learning (note 2) of "being within". "Making" rebuilds the relationship between and an individual and the multitude.

As the above charcteristics exclusively female? it might not be easily convincing nowadays. But since the beginning of history till now, facts remind us that woemn are still being regarded as secondary in a lot of social and cultural aspects. The selection of women-only artists for this exhibiton obviously paves the way to another thesis.

Note 1: Written by Liu Yizheng, Introduction by Cai Shangsi, History of Chinese Culture, Shanghai Guji Chu Ban She (Shanghai Ancient writings Publishing House). p13

Note 2: Please refer to the The Rotation Exercise written by Wong Lai Ching in the 4th issue of White Text. In which, she mentioned "They think with the hands, and find their inspiration from journeys which take them from the beginning of human history to the modern-day world.". p.28