Tai Kwun Contemporary presents a conversation between Dung Kai-cheung and Wing Po So.
Born into a family with several generations of history as traditional Chinese medical practitioners, artist Wing Po So has been acquainted with the textures, forms, and smells of Chinese pharmacological herbs from a young age. She grew up a stone’s throw away from Tai Kwun, in the area now called SoHo which used to be filled with unassuming print shops, dai pai dongs, and Chinese pharmacies. The rapid gentrification of the area has sparked the artist’s nostalgia into the legacy of her family and of history. Her artistic practice has consequently taken her on an investigation of Chinese medicinal herbs—physically but also philosophically—as well as associated interests, both historical and fanciful, from plant reproduction and energy flows to structural assemblages and celestial wonders, mixing the mythic and the scientific, weaving the microscopic with the macroscopic. This is Wing’s first solo art exhibition in Hong Kong.
Dung Kai-cheung is an award winning Hong Kong fiction writer, playwright and essayist. He has won several literary awards, including the Unitas Fiction Writing Award for New Writers, the United Daily News Literary Award for the Novel and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Literary Award for New Writers. He received the Award for Best Artist (Literary Arts) in 2007/2008 from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. His major fictional works include Androgyny: Evolution of a Nonexistent Species, Works and Creations and the Natural History trilogy. Dung has collaborated with Wing Po So in writing literary texts related to her exhibition.
Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please rsvp directly to learnart@taikwun.hk.
This conversation will be moderated by Professors Ho Siu Kee and Chan Yuk Keung (Chinese University of Hong Kong).
This is a Tai Kwun contemporary education and public programs initiative is organised by Jacqueline Liu and Melissa Karmen Lee.
