NOT AS TRIVIAL AS YOU THINK:HONG KONG ART QUIZ

2

Foreword
C&G Artpartment

46

International Art Fairs andTheir Relationship with Hong Kong Art
Hanison Lau

3

Preface
Asia Art Archive

48

Local Platforms for Comics and the Structural
Problems in Hong Kong's Cultural Environment
Law Man Lok

4

About –
Not As Trivial As You Think:
Hong Kong Art Quiz

51

Brief Talk on the '90s
Mickey Lee

53

The Artist's Role in Social Movements andthe '90s Art Scene
Momo Leung Mee Ping

55

From October Contemporary to Hong Kong
People's Fringe Festival and the Hong Kong
Art Market
Dora Tang

58

Young Artists Applying for Funding
Mak Ying Tung61

Two Performance Artworks andthe Younger Generation's View of Authority
Wong KY

64

From Self-Censorship toTruly Loving Hong Kong
Kacey Wong

66

Communication Between Art Students inHong Kong's Tertiary Education
Winnie Yan

68

Repeating Questions and the Possibilityof Publishing an Art Magazine
G Yeung

70

A Dinner Gathering After an Exhibition
Opening, C&G and Friends on the "Art Triads"

Not As Trivial As You Think:
Hong Kong Art Quiz
8

Must Answer Questions

18

Rapid-Fire Questions

28

Must Answer Solutions

31

Rapid-Fire Solutions
Interviews

36

On Monitoring Public Art Institutions
Evelyn Char38

Reflections on Themed Exhibitions
Halley Cheng

40

Dislocation And Experimental Photography
Martin Cheung

42

Listed Historical Architecture and
Its Adaptation for Art and Culture
Reds Cheung

44

From the Membership System of
the Hong Kong Arts Centre to Post-97
Major Cultural Exchange Programmes
May Fung

FOREWORD
The practice of the Hong Kong-based artist group C&G(Clara and Gum) is both humorous and challenging. The
activities they organise are collective and participatory innature, often with a focus on issues surrounding the art
ecology of Hong Kong and current events.
C&G believe that the art ecology of Hong Kong is
lopsided and seems to be fundamentally dependent on
a desire to consume and be consumed – whether it is tomake a living out of the art market, or to consume art asentertainment and a lifestyle. This seems to be a logicaldevelopment in Hong Kong's hyper-capitalist society but
C&G finds the situation less than ideal.
Between the states of consuming and being consumed,
there exist grey areas and gaps that can be filled by art
history, art criticism and art education. There needs to be
discussion around issues such as the contexts of artistic
production, long term development strategies for the city's
art ecology, and the politics of art. Practitioners should feelthat they can pursue something other than what merely
fits into the model of consumption.
The Hong Kong art scene is particularly active every
spring. In addition to Art Basel in Hong Kong, a major
event in both local and international art calendars, there
are many other exhibitions and art fairs of different scales
that simultaneously take place. Flocks of art lovers andpractitioners congregate, creating a strong atmosphere of"appreciating," "selling" and "collecting" art. This is oneof the reasons that C&G, Asia Art Archive's Artist-inResidence from January to May 2014, chose this time topresent Not As Trivial As You Think: Hong Kong Art Quiz.

Taking the traditional school quiz as its blueprint, theHong Kong Art Quiz engaged art professionals, art students
and audience members in a lively presentation. C&G
spoon-fed the audience a variety of interesting, seldom
acknowledged and important stories from the past 50 yearsof contemporary art and politics in Hong Kong – which
they had discovered during their residency at AAA.
Through the quiz, C&G and their collaborators hoped
to introduce Hong Kong's cultural and artistic legacy toa broader audience in a light-hearted manner. As the four
competing teams fought it out for the grand prize, thiswas also an opportunity to create another set of "awardwinning" artists. It was also a stage for a "performative
activity", where everyone involved was able to learn more
about the development of Hong Kong's art scene.
In addition to the questions and answers from this year's
art quiz, this publication also includes extended discussions
that C&G had with some of the participating artists. Since
last year's art quiz, the art scene in Hong Kong has seen
several changes – such as Art Basel in Hong Kong being
rescheduled to March instead of May. Yet despite thevarious developments in the scene, discussions with theparticipants revealed that the problems faced by the art
community over the years have been very similar. Throughthis project, it is our hope to provide an "effective"
platform for readers to grasp some of the common
knowledge of Hong Kong art in the shortest possible time.

—C&G Artpartment* All information and biographies were accurate during the time of the event.

C&G (Clara and Gum) are two Hong Kong artists who
founded the art space C&G Artpartment in 2007. C&G
share a deep concern for the local art ecology of Hong
Kong and use art as a means to respond to social andcultural issues. They help to develop new practices in thelocal art scene by developing exhibitions and conducting
exchange programmes. They also provide art education
programmes for the public within their art space. The
essential goal of C&G's practice is to address gaps thatcurrently exist in Hong Kong's art scene and to become
an art space for the exchange of ideas.
C&G were Asia Art Archive's Artist-in-Residence fromJanuary to May 2014.
2

PREFACE
Asia Art Archive's Residency Programme catalyses new
ideas by inviting artists and creative practitioners to engage
with the collections we hold, the ideas that shape us,
and the sites we inhabit. Encouraging multidisciplinaryinteraction with flexible time frames, each residency is
open to diverse outcomes.
As Asia Art Archive's residents from January to May
2014, C&G continued their ongoing project Meet the
Parents. By interviewing parents of Hong Kong artists,
the artists presented unconventional ways to expand
dialogues around Hong Kong art history, and delved into
how parental interventions and attitudes contribute to
the development of artistic careers. The edited version of
the interviews can be viewed at Asia Art Archive's website(www.aaa.org.hk/MeetTheParents).
C&G also searched for information on contemporary art
in Hong Kong, digging not only into Asia Art Archive's
collection, but also through other resources available inthe city. A general knowledge quiz on contemporary art
and politics in Hong Kong marked the culmination of
their research, and was brought to life by way of a live
event during Art Basel in Hong Kong 2014. Four teams
comprising of 23 artists, art professionals, and students"fought it out" as over 200 enthusiastic audience members
cheered on. The video documentation of the art quiz isavailable online at Asia Art Archive's website(www.aaa.org.hk/HKArtQuiz).
A parody of the education and examination system inHong Kong, the quiz encompassed questions that noone textbook could cover – referencing trivia related

to individuals, institutions, mathematics, and eveninternational relations. The parody continues in this artist
book as it covers the quiz's questions and answers, as wellas C&G's interviews with various contestants, providing
yet another "short-cut" to those who wish to enter Hong
Kong's complex art ecology the "easy" way in the mannerof a study guide.
C&G's embedded and reflective practice resonateswith Asia Art Archive's goal to add to and complicate
the narratives surrounding recent art in Asia. AAA's
ongoing projects in Hong Kong aim to address the lackof circulation on Hong Kong's art history including acollaborative project on Hong Kong Art History Researchwith the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and a pilot projectthat maps the archive of the late Hong Kong-based
artist Ha Bik Chuen, who documented over 40 years of
exhibitions through photography, and was a passionate
collector of visual ephemera.
Alongside C&G, it is our hope that these projects provide
thoughtful entry points into art in Hong Kong, and canserve as building blocks towards an open and reflective
engagement with art.

—Asia Art Archive

Asia Art Archive (AAA) is an independent non-profit
organisation initiated in 2000 in response to the urgent
need to document and make accessible the multiple recent
histories of art in the region. With an international Boardof Directors, an Advisory Board made up of noted scholars
and curators, and an in-house research team, AAA has
collated one of the most valuable collections of material oncontemporary art in the region – open to the public free ofcharge and increasingly accessible from its website. Morethan a static repository waiting to be discovered,
AAA instigates critical thinking and dialogue for a wide
range of audiences via public, research, residency andeducational programmes.

3

ABOUT –NOT ASTRIVIALAS YOU THINK:HONG KONG
ART QUIZ
Saturday 17 May 2014, 2-4pm
Rm N101B, Level 1, Hong Kong Convention andExhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wanchai, Hong Kong
There are two sessions in the quiz:First Session:
A set of compulsory multiple choice questions and1-2 "performative" questions (8 minutes per team)
Second Session:
Rapid-fire session (30 minutes)
Only four people from each team can be on stage at any
given time.
During the quiz, each team can ask for help twice by:1) calling a friend2) asking an audience member

Mak Ying Tung (a.k.a. Happy) is an artist. She was bornin 1989 and graduated from the School of Creative Media,
City University of Hong Kong, majoring in Critical
Intermedia Art. Her practice combines installation,
objects, video, and performance.
Evelyn Char (a.k.a. Bashful) is a researcher, arts writer,
and the most beautiful scholar's attendant in history. She
feels like a happy pig in the muddy waters of the art world.
Ip Yi (a.k.a. Sleepy) is an artist and a shadow member of
the team. Having studied illustration during University,
Ip finds working in one dimension dissatisfying and now
works mostly with wood – surrounding herself with flora.
Martin Cheung (a.k.a. Dopey) is a shadow member of theteam, as well as being an artist and a photographer who
works extensively with pinhole photography.
4 MONKEYS
Momo Leung Mee Ping (Leader) is an artist whose
creative practice includes installation, mixed media,
public art, and community art. Her research interests
include visual culture and globalisation. She is AssistantProfessor at the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong
Baptist University.

The Competing Teams

Siu King Chung is an artist, an art and designcommentator, and independent curator. He is Associate
Professor in the School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, where he is the Programme Leader of the BA(Hons) in Art and Design in Education.

LIE, LIE, LIE, LIE, LIE, LIE

Stephanie Cheung is an art educator and curator.
She reads, teaches, and writes art history.

(each with 4-6 participants)* Taken from the chorus of the 1993 Cantopop song "Summer Dash Lalala".

Law Man Lok (a.k.a. Lawman) (Leader/Snow White) is
an artist and one of the founders of Wooferten. His
unfulfilled aspiration is to become a successful artist by
replicating the hypocrisy of urban development.
Dora Tang (a.k.a. Doc) is a media practitioner. She
has been trying to become an artist by working in the
television industry and is thrilled to be a part of this art
world reality show.
Rachel Wong (a.k.a. Grumpy) is an arts administrator
and a small potato. She graduated from the Fine Arts
Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kongas one of the last students of Lui Chun Kwong and asa member of the department's "naughty dirty duo."
4

Yuki Lovey (a.k.a. Sneezy) is a Pisces who cries when she
is happy and laughs when she is sad. She is a student ofvisual arts and was the lead singer of The Lee's, which
released the album "White Sun Gun" in 2012. She
is currently working on "Reykjavik's love song" as aparticipant of the <Bon Voyage> music scheme, led byelectronic music band Vibration.

May Fung is an independent art and cultural practitioner.
She is also the Founder and Chair of Art & Culture
Outreach (ACO).
ART MOUSTACHEDr Kacey Wong (Leader) is a renowned, Hong Kong-based
visual artist, whose experimental work explores the socialand political relationships between individuals and society.
Mr Halley Cheng is an artist who works in various media
including painting, mixed media, installation, and video.
His "ball-point pen paintings" explore the hidden agendaof contemporary city life by appropriating imagery from
Chinese painting.

Mr Reds Cheung plays many roles in the art world andlikes it this way. He is an arts administrator, logistics
officer, docent, curator, designer, teacher, and activist,
depending on the time and space. Currently, he is amember of 1a space and teaches at the HKICC Lee Shau
Kee School of Creativity.
Mr Hanison Lau is a successful sculptor who createsvisually compelling contemporary works by distilling
concepts from traditional Chinese imagery.
PAGENEXT* PageNEXT was initiated to introduce Asia Art Archive to young people(aged 15-25) and promote contemporary art in society.

Mickey Lee (Leader) is an undergraduate student
at the University of Hong Kong, reading Fine Arts
and Philosophy. Lee oscillates between artistic andphilosophical pursuits in life and sleeps only a few
hours a day.
Phoebe Wong is an independent researcher based in
Hong Kong, and the former head of research at Asia
Art Archive. Wong is a writer dedicated to art, design,and visual media. More than anything else, she is aculture junkie.
G Yeung is the Curator of the Cultural Section of House
News. His guidelines as a writer are to write withoutwords. This is the reason he draws elephants and cats,for which he is not paid, in addition to his writing.
Crystal Wong Ka Ying is an artist. As she explains:"I know, I am a mess.
My hair is long and my feet are bare.
Wearing a short dress I am getting a sun tan
I don't carewhat they say about me,
what they say I am."Special Guest – The Ba-rocker
The Ba-rocker is a comedic duo formed by art world
darling Samson Young and the fabulous and fierce Alice
Wong. The duo boasts decorative appearances, relentlessly
pursuing everything individualistic and unique. In spiteof changes in the broader environment, the duo refuses
to shed their extravagant accessories and flamboyant
performance style. When absurdity once again dominates
cultural thinking and artistic style, The Ba-rocker pledges
to be in attendance.
In order to bring on the heat of competition at the Art
Quiz, The Ba-rocker will complement their real-time
English commentary with muzak and improvisatoryinterjections. The Ba-rocker will gracefully enhance the
Art Quiz's atmosphere with absurdity as they show off
their power and wealth.
Alice Wong is a team member of soundpocket, a Hong
Kong-based organisation that works in the fields of sound,art, and culture.
Samson Young is a sound and performance artist
originally trained in music composition. His creative
output is now manifested in a variety of media and acrossdisciplinary divides. Young is currently Assistant Professor
at the School of Creative Media, City University ofHong Kong.
Documentary of Not As Trivial As You Think:
Hong Kong Art Quiz (Full version)www.aaa.org.hk/HKArtQuiz
01:53:40

Crystal Wong (who shares a similar name with theartist above but is in fact a different person) is anundergraduate student at the Academy of Visual Arts,
Hong Kong Baptist University. Wong thinks that the
pursuit of art is one of life's ideals and hopes that,upon her graduation, she will be able to raise more
accommodating and insightful questions.
Winnie Yan is an undergraduate student at the School of
Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.
Yan is a curious teenager with a poor memory and has
as many questions in her head as hairs on her head.
Thank goodness there are few absolute answers to hermany questions.

5

NOT AS TRIVIAL AS YOU THINK:HONG KONG ART QUIZ––

Must Answer Questions
Rapid-Fire Questions* The image above is a drawing by Gum taking reference from one of the four paintings donated by artist Chow Chun Fai as the grand prize of the Art Quiz.
The award winning team was PageNEXT.

– Must Answer Questions

1

The Pillar of Shame was created by artist
Jens Galschiøt in 1997. What is his nationality?

3

A Danish
B SwedishC British
D GermanAfter the June Fourth Incident in 1989, dozens ofHong Kong artists and students from theHong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
cooperated to recreate The Goddess of Democracy inthe city. The statue was put up in Victoria Park in
mid-June of the same year. Which of the following
artists did not participate?
A Warren Leung Chi Wo
B Antonio Mak
C Josh Hon
D Chen Shi Shen

2

Which of the events listed below was
the earliest art biennial in Asia?
A Hong Kong Art Biennial
B Osaka Triennial
C Shanghai Biennale
D Taipei Biennial

84

The Workshop was one of the first alternative art
spaces formed by Hong Kong artists. It wasestablished in 1983 and started to holdcontemporary art exhibitions in 1984. What was
the main function of The Workshop before it
became an exhibition space?
A Painting workshop
B Darkroom
C Ceramics workshop
D Glass workshop

Guerrilla Performative Question
To be performed by the team leader
Speech Recitation (to be evaluated by the audience: please clap, if one mark should be added)
Please recite the following paragraph from this article:"Over 130 painters and calligraphers from Shenzhen and Hong Kong join hands in exhibition tocelebrate National Day" published in Ta Kung Pao on 1 October 2003:
On behalf of Mr Gao Jingde, Deputy Director of Education, Science and Sports Committee of the CPPCC National Committee andPresident of the Hong Kong Association of Chinese Culture, the Hong Kong Association of Chinese Culture and Hong Kong Culture andArts Foundation, Mr Xie Weiwu, supervisor and vice president of the Association of Chinese Culture of Hong Kong expressed most heartfelt
thanks and respect to organisers from Futian district for their enthusiasm in promoting and engaging in cultural exchange with Hong Kong!
Chinese Culture is the spiritual home of the Chinese people, and fine art calligraphy is the essence of the vast Chinese culture. The passionate
brushstrokes of over one hundred artists from Hong Kong and Futian depicted the beauty of both places and expressed the deep loving
sentiments towards the motherland. Each artwork is a labour of love by the artists; each work shows the flourishing cultural spirit of theChinese and each work reflects the wisdom of the people. All Chinese are made proud and take pride in these works!
香港中華文化總會副會長兼監事長謝緯武在致辭時，代表全國政協教科文衛體委員會副主任、香港中華文化總會會長高敬德、香港中華文化總會和香港文化藝術基金會對福田區主辦機構積極推動與香港的文化交流，促成合作的盛意和氣度表示最誠摯的敬佩和最衷心的感
謝！中華文化是中華民族共有的精神家園，美術書法是博大精深的中華文化的精髓。香港福田一百多位藝術家們激情揮毫，描繪出香港
和福田的美麗風情風貌，表達心中對祖國的濃濃情懷。每一幅作品都是藝術家們的心血結晶，展現了中華民族蒸蒸日上的文化精神，體
現了中國人的聰明智慧，令所有中國人感到驕傲和自豪！」

5

How many digits would you find in an ISBN
(International Standard Book Number) if you
applied for it in the year 2014?

7

A 9
B 11
C 13
D 14

6

How was the rooftop space of the Fringe Club
used in 1986? (The space now houses Colette's
photography gallery and restaurant.)
A Painting studio
B Photography studio
C Ceramics studio
D Exhibition space

Artists Danny Yung, Edward Lam, and Choi Yan
Chi started producing the play The Long March in
1982, around the time that China and the United
Kingdom first began discussing the future ofHong Kong. Before the play's premiere, the Hong
Kong Government requested that its name bechanged. What was The Long March renamed to?
A The Grand Expedition
B The Great Wall
C The End of the Road
D The Wide Road

8

Artist Chow Chun Fai participated in thefunctional constituency election of the Legislative
Council in 2012. How many votes did he get?
A 156
B 267
C 477
D 535

9

9

In what year did three foreign judges withholdawards for some categories of the Contemporary
Hong Kong Art Biennial because the works were ofa "bad quality"?

13

A Eric Leung Shiu Kee
B Chow Chun Fai
C Andrew Lam Hon Kin
D Alan Lau Chung Hang

A 1993
B 1994
C 1995
D 199610

On 30 March 2008, which renowned artist was
sketching at the junction of Lyndhurst Terrace
and Gage Street in Central and was asked to leaveby the management authorities and the police?

14

12

Danny Yung's installation In Search of New China
in the 1990s was based on this photo of six leadersof the Communist Party of China. Please name allof the people pictured (from left to right):

At one time, we had the subjects "Arts and Crafts,""Fine Arts," "Handicrafts," and "Art and Design."
When were they grouped together and renamed"Visual Arts"?
A 1995
B 1997
C 1999D 2001

10

Hon Chi Fun was invited to participate in theSão Paulo Art Biennial in 1971. Which government
was responsible for coordinating his participation?
A Hong Kong
B Taiwan
C Commonwealth of Nations Government
D Canada

A Au Yeung Nai Chim
B Kong Kai Ming
C Shen Ping
D Pang Juin

11

Which of the following artists is/was a member of
The Democratic Party?

15

Which of the following artists was part of the castfor the Hong Kong movie Kill Zone?
A Lo Lok Him
B Yuen Kin Leung (Yuenjie)
C Phoebe Man Ching Ying
D Man Lee Chi Man

16

Practitioners from Hong Kong's visual arts fieldorganised a series of large-scale art activities titled
October Contemporary (OC). When did OC startand how long did it last for?

Guerrilla Performative Question
One member from each team:please get ready!

A 2006 / four years
B 2007 / four years
C 2007 / three years
D 2008 / three years(To be evaluated by the audience:
Please clap, if one mark should be added.)
Whistle the tune of"London Bridge is Falling Down"

17

How many artists participated in the Hong Kong
Art Circle Celebrates Hong Kong's 10 th Handover
Anniversary Exhibition?

20.

A Approximately 300
B Approximately 500
C Approximately 800
D Approximately 1,000

18

Artist Chow Chun Fai participated in theLegislative Council Functional Constituency
election in 2012. What constituency was he in?

19

There is a Hong Kong-based organisation thatshares the same English abbreviation as theHong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC).
What is the full Chinese name of that organisation?

This is an image of an old building that existed at
15 Kennedy Road before 1990. In October of
1987, artists Choi Yee Yuen, Choi Yan Chi, Fung
Man Yee, Lau Gukzik, Robert O'Brien, Wong WoBik, and Ricky Yeung held an exhibition here.
What was the name of the exhibition?
A Outside
B Exterior
C Outbound
D Out of Context

21

What was the name of the first gallery that
advocated modern art in Hong Kong and wasestablished in 1962?
A Chatham Gallery
B Chelsea Gallery
C Cheltenham Gallery
D Charleston Gallery

11

22

What was the Hong Kong Museum ofArt formerly known as?

26

A City Hall Museum and Art Gallery
B The Museum of Hong Kong
C Hong Kong Fine Arts Museum
D Hong Kong Museum and Art Gallery at
City Hall

23

When was British sculptor Dame Elisabeth
Frink's work New Man judged "indecent" by
The Obscene Articles Tribunal?

A Hung Keung
B Jaffa Lam Laam
C Kwok Ying
D Lee Kit

27

A February 1995
B April 1995
C June 1995
D December 1995

24

Which of the following artists studied social work?

Which of the following artists was born inHong Kong?

Which of the following Hong Kong visual artists
were included on the "watch list" of the "Special
Branch" of the British Colonial Government ofHong Kong?
A Mok Chiu Yu
B Kwok Mang Ho
C Kith Tsang Tak Ping
D Wong Shun Kit

28

A Tse Pak Chai
B Ducky Tse Chi Tak
C Galen Tse
D Tse Ming Chong

Artist Joseph Beuys' artwork was included in the
1995 edition of Le French May. Yet it was heldby the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation
Department and was prohibited from display.
Which of the following materials were included in
the work?
A Ivory
B Rabbit skin
C Rhinoceros horn
D Deer horn

25

Do you think the Hong Kong Government has
a "black list" of art and cultural practitioners at
the moment? Why?
(To be evaluated by audience: Please clap if one
mark should be added.)

1229

Who was the Hong Kong Arts Development
Council member who advocated for the
implementation of "Creative Design for
Washrooms in Primary and Secondary Schools,"
starting in 2003?
A Paddy Lui Wai Yu
B Rocco Yim
C May Fung
D Yu Shu Tak

30

In the 1990s, the Provisional Urban Council
proposed establishing the Hong Kong
Contemporary Art Museum. Where was the
proposed location?

34

A February 1994
B March 1994
C April 1995
D May 1995

A Kowloon Park
B Penfold Park
C Hong Kong Park
D Ocean Park Hong Kong

31

Which of the following art groups or organisations
is not funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club?

35

A Hulu Culture
B Para/Site Art Space
C Wooferten
D MaD

32

If the price of printing a banner is $5 per square
feet, how much does it cost to print two banners
measuring 12 feet x 8 feet each?

When was the Hong Kong Arts Development
Council established, replacing the Council of
Performing Arts?

Two sentences were engraved in Chinese andEnglish on the base of The Pillar Of Shame.
Which of the following is one of the sentences?
A The shame.
B The old cannot kill the young forever.
C The intellectual cannot submit.
D People will not forget.

36

Below is an image of Sea Crest Terrace in Mui Wo,
Lantau Island. Which of the following art festivals
was held there in 2006?
A Lantau Arts Festival
B Mui Wo Arts Festival
C Environmental Arts Festival
D Land Art Festival

33

During the opening of the 1987 Contemporary
Hong Kong Art Biennial, which of the following
artists sprayed his or her selected artwork(titled A Maiden Dressed in Red) black as
a gesture of protest?
A Antonio Mak
B Yeung Tong Lung
C Yank Wong Yan Kwai
D Chan Ching Wah

13

40

Who was the first Chief Executive Officer of the
Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC)?
A Louis Yu Kwok Lit
B Lillian Hau Cheuk Ki
C Eddie Lui Fung Ngar
D Grace Cheng

Guerrilla Performative Question
One member gets ready on the centreof the stage.
Count the 64 sheets of A4 paper stacked in
front of you within one minute.

37

The Goddess of Democracy was created in 1989
over three days by more than 20 students from six
academies, including China's Central Academyof Fine Arts. When was the statue officiallydisplayed in Tiananmen Square?

41

A Warren Leung Chi Wo
B Ellen Pau
C Ho Siu Kee
D Kurt Chan Yuk Keung

A 30 May
B 31 MayC 1 June
D 2 June

38

Which of the following government departments
were responsible for the management of the Oil
Street Artist Village, North Point, which from1998-99 took up many of the vacant spaces at theformer Government Supplies Department?

42

A Leisure and Cultural Services Department
B Government Supplies Department
C Government Property Agency
D Antiquities and Monuments Office

39

When did the art competition organised by
The Philippe Charriol Foundation first begin?
A 1986
B 1987
C 1988
D 198914

Who was the first artist to represent Hong Kong in
the São Paulo Art Biennial?

In 2003, an artist filed a court case against theHong Kong Arts Development Council regarding
the selection procedure for the Venice Biennale.
The court ruled in favour of the artist. Who wasthis individual?
A Andrew Lam Hon Kin
B James Wong
C Luke Ching
D Chan Sai Lok

43

In 2004, a note that said "Break it" was stuckon the glass door of Para/Site Art Space. Eventuallya neighbour broke the glass door with a metal
hammer. Who created this interactive artwork?
A Lock Lo Chi Kit
B Law Yuk Mui
C Law Nga Wing
D Law Man Lok

44

In April 1966, So Sau Chung began a hunger
strike protest against the decision to increase thefare of the Star Ferry at the Central Star Ferry
Terminal. The protest triggered a series of strikes
and the 1967 riots. In 1999, So directed thebiographical film From The Riot To The
Pioneer which was screened in Oil Street's Artist
Commune. Which of the following organisations
sponsored the production and the screening of
the film?
A Video PowerB Hong Kong Arts Development Council
C Videotage
D Hong Kong Arts Centre

45

Quite a number of art organisations/art spaces havebeen recommended by Lonely Planet (2014 Hong
Kong edition). Which of the following art spaces
have not been recommended?
A 1a space
B Wooferten
C Hong Kong Arts Centre
D C&G Artpartment

46.

47

Western Market was redesigned in 1992 by
the Land Development Corporation. How was
the third floor space used for the first year after
the refurbishment?
A Fabric store
B Art exhibition
C Food & beverage
D Habitus Design Space

The Hong Kong Contemporary Art Awards,
formerly Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial
Exhibition and Hong Kong Art Biennial, categorises
entries according to artistic media. Which editionof the awards included a thematic exhibition?
A 1987
B 1989C 1998D 200115

48

Pan Xing Lei executed his work Red Action in
Victoria Park by first splashing himself anda statue of Queen Victoria with red paint andthen punching the statue's nose. When did thisaction take place?

50

Since 2001, Hong Kong has participated in the
Venice Biennale seven times. What is the officialname for Hong Kong in the Venice Biennale?
A Hong Kong
B Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
C China Hong Kong
D All of the above

A June 1996
B September 1996
C December 1996
D March 1997

51

Here is an image of the exhibition Primitive
Craftsmanship . Contemporary Sculpture held by
the Hong Kong visual art group STRA in 2011.
Where did the exhibition take place?
A Yuen Long Town Park
B Music FarmC Tai Tong Lychee Garden
D Kadoorie Farm

49

Hong Kong-based visual arts organisation
Wooferten, which has been located at
404 Shanghai Street, has been organising an
artist-in-residence programme since 2009.
Artist Wong Nai Chong has been in residence
there since then. What medium does he work in?
A Metal construction
B Flower plaques
C Rattan products
D Porcelain paintings

16

Guerrilla Performative Question
One member gets ready on the centre of
the stage.
Invite seven audience members,
each wearing red, orange, yellow, green,light green, blue, and purple respectively,
to come up and form a rainbow.

52

When was the Hong Kong Visual Arts Yearbook
first published?
A 1998
B 1999C 2000
D 200153

Wooferten was responsible for managing theShanghai Street Artspace in October 2009.
Who are the founding members of Wooferten?

17

– Rapid-Fire Questions

1

Which of the following artists participated in the
Hong Kong movie It is a Wonderful Life?

4

A Ho Sin Tung
B Echo Ho Yin Sin
C Selina Ho Chui Fan
D Ho Ki Ki

2.

In 1993, the art group Home of HK Artists
demonstrated in front of the Legislative Council.
Which of the following was not one of theirdemands?
A To establish representation of cultural
practitioners in the Legislative Council
B To increase subsidies for artists' fees
C To establish artist studios
D To allocate funding for Hong Kongart history research

Where was the 1994 Open Studios held?
A Fo Tan
B Kwun Tong
C Chai Wan
D All around Hong Kong

Guerrilla Performative Question
Each team: please select one member to cometo the centre of the stage.
Paste a drawing on a foam board (nicely).
The fastest and neatest wins!

3

What was the theme of the first performance byZuni Icosahedron in the United States in 1990?
A Identity Crisis
B The Tiananmen Incident/
June Fourth Incident
C The Four Great Inventions
D The Offspring of Zheng He

5

In July 1984, Chan Wing Kei, then a student of
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Fine
Arts Department (CUHK Arts), held an
exhibition titled Beyond the Wall of Anxiety witha few other classmates. This exhibition expressed
students' dissatisfaction towards the teaching
methods and teaching curriculum of CUHK Arts.
Where was the exhibition held?
A Department of Fine Arts, CUHKB Fringe Club
C Public space
D Hong Kong Arts Centre

18

6What is the size of 100ft PARK's exhibition space,
Art Space 100 sq/ft?

8

How much did the most expensive work of aHong Kong contemporary artist sell for in 2013?
A HK$ 540,000
B HK$ 1,080,000
C HK$ 1,840,000
D HK$ 2,550,000

A 100 sq ft
B 110 sq ft
C 120 sq ft
D 130 sq ft

9In 2007, C&G Artpartment organised
the exhibition The Preview of New West Kowloon
Exhibition Venue. Replicas of all the artworks inthat exhibition were shown again in May 2008.
Where were they exhibited?
A West Kowloon Reclamation District
B High Block Exhibition Hall of City Hall
C 1/F Lobby of Central Plaza
D 1/F Lobby of the Hong Kong Museum of Art

Art Space 100 sq ft

7

Lei Yue Mun Plus was established in areconstructed village school in Lei Yue Mun.
Which of the following organisations helped
establish the entity?

10

Please match three male Hong Kong artists whocurrently have long hair with the three characters in
Old Master Q who also had long hair.

A The Democratic Party
B Hong Kong Chamber of Seafood
Merchants Limited
C The Civic Party
D Kowloon Federation of Associations

19

11

Singapore artists Lee Wen, Wong Shih Yaw, andKhairul Anwar participated in an exhibition in
Hong Kong in 1990 and introduced Singapore's
artist village. Which of the following art groups
invited them to come to Hong Kong?

14

A Quart Society
B Fringe ClubC Hong Kong Arts Centre
D Hong Kong Visual Arts Society

12

During the colonial period, governors ofHong Kong and chief secretaries borrowed artworks
from the Hong Kong Museum of Art to decorate
their residences with every year. In 1995,
the Financial Secretary tried to borrow an artworkfrom the Hong Kong Museum of Art to decorate
his residence. Was the application successful?

Frog King Kwok Mang Ho presented his work
Hak Bun Lum Happening in the Hong Kong
Museum of Art at City Hall in the 1970s. He
poured cow bones in front of his Fire Sculpture
without notifying the museum. At which exhibition
opening did this take place?
A Hong Kong Visual Arts Society(VAS) Exhibition
B First edition of Hong Kong Contemporary
Art Biennial
C Second edition of Hong Kong Art Biennial
D Hong Kong Contemporary Art Exhibition15

In 1971, the City Museum and Art Gallery
printed an advertisement for the post of assistantcurator in the newspaper. What was the monthly
salary range then?
A HK$ 1,300-2,300
B HK$ 1,800-2,800
C HK$ 2,300-3,300
D HK$ 2,800-3,800

A Yes
B No

16

(Geometry): Which of the following Hong Kongartists does not wear circular glasses frequently?
A Ho Siu Kee
B Kwok Mang Ho / Frog KingC Stanley Wong Ping Pui /Anothermountainman
D Gum Cheng Yee Man

Guerrilla Performative Question
Each team: please select one member to cometo the centre of the stage.
Fold a plane out of a piece of paper and fly it.
The plane that flies the furthest wins.

13

Which of the following visual art organisations was
nicknamed "The arts triads" during the 1990s and2000s?
A Hong Kong Cultural Sector
Joint Conference
B Hong Kong Young Artist Association
C Hong Kong Visual Arts Society
D Hong Kong Culture and Art Promotion

20

17

A Temporary Public Entertainment License issued
by the Food and Environmental Hygiene
Department is required for any public art activity(e.g. exhibitions and performances) held inHong Kong's public spaces. How much does sucha license cost?
A HK$ 1,000
B HK$ 2,000
C HK$ 3,000
D HK$ 4,000

21What is the smallest grant given out by theHong Kong Arts Development Council?
A HK$ 500
B HK$ 1,000
C HK$ 2,000
D HK$ 2,970

Guerrilla Performative Question
Each team: please select one member tocome to the centre of the stage.
Spin a book on your finger.
The last book spinning wins.

18

Which of the following practitioners met Princess
Diana in 1995?

22

A Amy Cheung
B Johnson Chang Tsong Zung
C Enoch Cheung
D Ban Cheong Chi Ping

According to First Draft published by The
Workshop in 1995, Archille Bonito Oliva,
the curator of the Venice Biennale who criticised
the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial,
was invited to redesign the galleries of theHong Kong Museum of Art. How did he classify
the museum's exhibition halls?
A By medium: painting, installation, video, sculpture.
B By period: classical, modern, post-modern.
C By theme: globalisation, post-colonial,socialism, capitalism.
D By Asian region: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Korea, Japan.

19

The Hong Kong Museum of Art moved to its
current premises in Tsim Sha Tsui in 1991. Thatsame year, over 70 Hong Kong artists signed apetition to the Hong Kong Museum of Art,
expressing their dissatisfaction. What instigatedthis petition?
A The site of the museum
B The Hong Kong Museum ofArt's first exhibition Too French
C The architectural design of the museum
D The tender of the museum bookstore

20

23

What event was A Festival of Installation Art:
Documentary Exhibition, curated by Lam Andrew
Hon Kin in 1994, responding to?
A The Handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
B A demand for official rehabilitation of those
involved in the Tiananmen movement.
C The 1994 Contemporary Hong Kong
Art Biennial.
D The carryover of Legislative Council members
before 1997 to the post-Handover period.

How much does it cost to rent exhibition spacein the Fringe Club for a week?
A FreeB HK$ 1,000
C HK$ 3,000
D HK$ 7,000

21

Guerrilla Performative
Question

27

Each team: please select one
member to come to the centreof the stage.
Mount a canvas. The first tocomplete the task wins.

24

On 4 January 2000, artists who rented space inthe former Government Supplies Department (OilStreet Artist Village) were evicted. They were later
allowed to set up a new artist village in the Cattle
Depot. Which of the following locations were theinterim sites that artists were moved to as the Cattle
Depot Artist Village underwent repairs during
2000 and 2001?
A Cheung Sha Wan Vegetable Marketing
Organisation and Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse
B Cheung Sha Wan Vegetable Marketing
Organisation and Shek Kip Mei Estate
Mei Ho House
C Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir andShanghai Street Artspace
D Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir and Kai Tak Airport

The local visual art group Home of Hong Kong
Artists was allocated three classrooms in a vacantprimary school in Shek Lei Pui in 1994. To whichgovernment department did the organisation'schairperson Lee Kam Ping apply?
A Urban Council
B Regional Council
C Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Bureau
D Council of Performing Arts

25

When was Hong Kong's first internationalart fair held?
A 1972
B 1982
C 1992
D 200226

Where was the Museum of Site (MOST) locatedwhen it was first established?
A Kat Hing Wai
B Wing Lung Wai
C Kam Hing Wai
D Kam Tsin Wai

22

28

According to the "Submission on key aspects ofthe proposed legislation for establishing a statutory
body to take forward the West Kowloon Cultural
District (WKCD) project from Hong Kong Arts
Centre (HKAC) dated January 2008," HKAC
suggested the board of WKCD should not only
include appointed members, but also should
involve an open election process, welcoming all
citizens and registered organisations to become
individual and organisational members. Afterbecoming members, the public can nominate or
be nominated as candidates of the Board ofGovernors. Those elected will join the Board ofGovernors. (Translated from the Chinese.)
Please state the procedure for becoming a memberof the Hong Kong Arts Centre.

29

In 2002, the Department of Fine Arts of The
Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong
Kong Art School cooperated for the first time tohold a student group exhibition. Two students
from CUHK and three students from HKAS
participated in the exhibition. At least one of thefive is present today. Please name one of them.

32

Please describe your personal experience ofan art theft. (To be evaluated by the audience.)30

In 1993, Li Ka Shing collaborated with some artists
to publish a photography periodical named
Dislocation. Which of the following magazines was
it published with?

33

What subject did local farmer and art critic Jaspar
Lau Kin Wah teach in the Hong Kong Art Schoolin 2014?
A Art Theory
B Art Criticism
C Art Activism
D Talking Art

A City Magazine
B Ming Pao Monthly
C Photo World
D Photo Pictorial

34

31

Many of the bars in Hong Kong opened by
local cultural practitioners include numbers intheir names. Please state two of them.

The 97 Munich Cultural Festival was held in
August 1997. It lasted for 18 days and cost
HK$ 2.3 million. Works by more than 100 artists
were exhibited, and more than 60 practitioners
were engaged in exchange and performances. It isregarded as the largest and most comprehensive
programme promoting Hong Kong contemporary
art in Europe to date. Which of the following
government departments were present at the festival?
A Information Service Department
B Urban Council
C Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Bureau
D Hong Kong Arts Development Council
E All of the above
F None of the above

23

38
Guerrilla Performative Question

How was the sixth floor of the Hong Kong Arts
Centre used in 1995?
A Chinese restaurant
B Italian restaurant
C Karaoke
D Theatre

Each team: please select one member tocome to the centre of the stage with his or
her mobile phone.
Call Gum. The first to reach him wins.

35

Ma Jia Bao, an artist who worked mostly in oil
painting, held an exhibition at City Hall in
October 1967. The exhibition was eventuallycancelled by the British Colonial Government ofHong Kong amid rumours that a painting titled
Reading the News was causing anxiety within thegovernment. What did the painting depict?

39"adc80s", formed by three artists, participated in
the election of committee members to the Hong
Kong Arts Development Council in September
2010. Choi Ger Tsz Kwan was elected as committee
member for Art Education. Please state the Chinese
names of the other two practitioners.

40

Which of the following art periodicals was
self-funded?

A A nude portrait
B The hardships of living in Hong Kongand Macau
C The Opium War
D Martial law in Taiwan

36

In 2006, the art group Artist Commune organised
the exhibition Hong Kong Sculpture >1M, which
was the first exchange exhibition of modern
sculpture between Hong Kong, Guangzhou, andMacau. Macau artist Ng Fong Chao's work
Munificent Gift was prohibited from display inGuangzhou, the second stop of the travelingexhibition. What was the pattern and colour of thework that led to the prohibition?

A C for Culture
B Besides
C Art Currents
D Xpressions
E Art in Hong Kong

A Red Chinese national flag
B Rainbow
C Black and white abstract
D Camouflage green
37

Registration of an ISBN (International StandardBook Number) is required to publish a book in
Hong Kong. How many samples should be sent to
The Books Registration Office after the book is
published? When must these samples be sent?
A Three samples,within two weeks of publication.
B Three samples within three weeks ofpublication.
C Three samples within one month of publication.
D Five samples within one month of publication.

24

41

If Hong Kong citizens wish to use the Resource
Centre at the Heritage Museum, how many days inadvance do they need to make an appointment byphone?
A One dayB Two days
C Three days
D Four days

42.

The exhibition Remaking the Pink Book,
organised by Lau Kin Wai and Yank Wong Yan
Kwai, took place outside the Legislative Council inCentral in July 1993. What did "the Pink Book"
represent?

46

A Consultation document tothe arts funding policy
B Consultation document to the formation of
the Arts Development Council
C Research on the right to use art venues
D Arts Policy Review Report

43

How many members must an entity have to registeras an organisation in Hong Kong? How much doesit cost to register? Where is the registration office?

A 1a space and Para/Site Art SpaceB 1a space and the Artist Commune
C Hong Kong Society for Education in Art andAsia Art Archive
D Para/Site Art Space and the Artist Commune

47

Where was the exhibition Still Lives: Art byVietnamese Boat People in Hong Kong heldin October 1990?
A Hong Kong Arts Centre
B Fringe ClubC Tuen Mun Town Hall
D Sha Tin Town Hall

45

What was the agnès b. CINEMA formerly
known as?
A Run Run Shaw Film Theatre
B Mong Man Wai Film Theatre
C Lim Por Yen Film Theatre
D Jockey Club Film Theatre

A Two people / free / Central Government Offices
B Three people / free / Hong Kong Police
Headquarters
C Three people /HK$ 50 / Hong Kong Police Headquarters
D Five people / HK$ 50 /Wan Chai Revenue Tower

44

In 2003-04, it was suggested that two visual arts
organisations' applications for the Hong Kong
Arts Development Council's one year grant
be repealed. These two organisations had
continuously received funding from the HKADC.
Which of the following organisations were they?

48

In Democracy Arts Fair, an exhibition on 16 July
1989, an artist intervened in Ricky Yeung's artwork
Four Cardinal Principles by taking off his pants
and sitting on the spittoon in the artwork.
Which of the following practitioners staged theintervention?
A Chan Bing Chiu
B Leung Man Tao
C Mathias Woo
D Wong Chi Fai

In 1986, the Hong Kong Museum of Art
collaborated with the British Council to organise
an exhibition. During its installation many
government departments were mobilised, including
the Royal Air Force, which sent three helicopters totransport artworks. Who was the artist in question?

25

49

When did the Hong Kong Government "decide"to develop a 'cultural entertainment district' in theWest Kowloon reclamation area?

53

A 1998
B 1999C 2000
D 200150

In which year's HKSAR Budget Speech was
the term "Art Fairs" mentioned?

A HK$ 8,500
B HK$ 15,500
C HK$ 19,500
D HK$ 24,500

54

A 2010-11
B 2011-12
C 2012-13
D 2013-14

51

There were a number of comic dailies published in
the 1970s. Please name one of them.

What is the current daily rental cost of
the Exhibition Hall of Hong Kong City Hall
(Low Block)?

In 2014, there were 245 galleries participating in
Art Basel Hong Kong. How many of them arebased in Hong Kong?
A 18
B 24
C 38
D 45

55

Street artist Andrew So (Mr Funny) was arrested forroad obstruction in April 2010 when he was
performing at a pedestrian zone in Causeway Bay.
He was found innocent in September 2010. The
judge stated that: 1) Although street performances
partially obstruct road traffic, pedestrians can stillmove around, and 2) The Basic Law protects
citizens' freedom to participate in cultural activities.
Which article in The Basic Law states that citizens
have freedom to participate in cultural activities?
A Article 23
B Article 33
C Article 34
D Article 35

52

The Complaints Choir of Hong Kong was formed
in 2009. In which country did The Complaints
Choir originate?
A Finland
B United Kingdom
C United States
D Canada26

– Must Answer Solutions

1

A Danish2

A Hong Kong Art Biennial

3

D Chen Shi Shen

10

D Pang Juin

Ref: https://plus.google.com/110420708257340147401/posts
http://p-mak.blogspot.hk/2010/06/blog-post.html

4

B Darkroom

5

C 13

6

A Painting studio
Ref: http://www.youthnetradio.org/tmit/forum/thread-10018-1-1.html

11

The 7000 Persons Conference, 11 January to
7 February 1962. From left to right: Zhu De,
Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, Liu Shaoqi, Mao Zedong,
Deng Xiaoping.

12

D 2001

13

C Andrew Lam Hon Kin

Ref: Art Currents, 1986

28

7

D The Wide Road

8

C 477

1. Siu See Kong, 109
2. Ma Fung Kwok, 1,106
3. Chow Chun Fai, 477

Ref: http://specials.mingpao.com/htm/legco/cfm/Category.
cfm?Category=function

9

14

A 1993

B Taiwan

15

B Yuen Kin Leung (Yuenjie)16

C 2007 / three years

17

D Approximately 1,000

18Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication

35

B The old cannot kill the young forever.

There was text inscribed on the plinth of The Pillar of Shame, it read
"The Tiananmen Massacre June 4th 1989" and "The old cannot kill the
young forever".

36

A Lantau Arts Festival

Ref: https://plus.google.com/109379952772358496409/about
http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/Events/LAF06poster_new-ps2-wp.jpg
http://merry-art-round.blogspot.hk/2006/10/enivornmental-chair-art.html /37

A 30 May

19

Hong Kong Arts Discovery Channel

Ref: The Goddess of Democracy was destroyed by tanks on 4 June 1989,
the sixth day it stood in Tiananmen Square.
http://1989report.hkja.org.hk/site/portal/Site.aspx?id=A27-59

20

D Out of Context

38

C Government Property Agency

21

A Chatham Gallery

39

A 198622

A City Hall Museum and Art Gallery

40

C Eddie Lui Fung Ngar

23

D December 1995

41

C Ho Siu Kee

24

A Tse Pak Chai42

B James Wong

25

/

43

D Law Man Lok

26

D Lee Kit

Ref: PS: Visual Arts and Culture Magazine(Summer and Winter, No. 22,23 & 25)

27

A Mok Chiu Yu

44

Ref.: Max Wong, "Reading Colony ( 閱讀殖民地 )"28

C Rhinoceros horn

Ref: "A radical departure." South China Morning Post, 4 May 1995.
David Clark, "Censorship in Hong Kong" (A banned Beuys rhino horn
and an indecent Frink), Art Asia Pacific, vol. 3, no. 2, 1996.

29

D Yu Shu Tak

30

A Kowloon Park

Ref.: "Museum of Contemporary Art Faces Uncertain Future.
Gerard Tsang Urges the Industry to Unity in Support of the Construction.",Ta Kung Pao, page B02, 7-6-1999.

31

C Wooferten

32

HK$ 960

33

D Chan Ching Wah

34

B March 1994

B Hong Kong Arts Development Council

According to the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Annual Report
1998/99, So Sau Chung received an ADC grant of HK$ 184,500 for
the project "The people's opinion is not worth a penny".

45

B Wooferten

46

A 1987In the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition 1987, in
addition to the different sections of various types of media, there was one
section with the theme "International Year of Shelter for the Homeless."

47

B Art exhibition

Ref: It was reported in Sing Tao Newspaper (11 August 1992): "The third
floor will be used for art exhibitions and managed by the Hong Kong
Artists' Guild for a tentative period of one year. The exhibition space has
been managed by the Land Development Corporation (later renamed
Urban Renewal Authority) and loaned to the Hong Kong Artists' Guild
free of charge. Everyone can rent the space but needs to pay their own costsof electricity and manpower. A six-day rental of the 700 square foot space
will cost around HK$ 4,000.
(HK$ 3,000 for members of the Hong Kong Artists' Guild)."

29

48

B September 1996

The actual date is 16 September 1996: the same day as the opening of
the Hong Kong Art Biennial 1996.

49

B Flower plaques

50

C China Hong Kong

Ref: The Venice Biennale housed national pavilions built in different
periods of time by participating countries and started to include official
collateral events around 2000.

30

51

C Tai Tong Lychee Garden

52

C 200053

11 artists: Luke Ching, Law Man Lok,
Wen Yau, Liu Jianhua, Lee Chun Fung, Yu Ruomei,
Kwan Sheung Chi, Doris Wong Wai Yin,
Edwin Lai Kin Keung, Clara Cheung,
Gum Cheng Yee Man.

– Rapid-Fire Solutions

1

D Ho Ki Ki

2

D All around Hong Kong

3

B The Tiananmen Incident / June Fourth Incident

4

D To allocate funding forHong Kong art history research

Ref: Committee of History of Hong Kong Artist Group Exhibition,"History of Hong Kong Artist Group Exhibition ( 香港美術團體歷史展覽 )" ,Hong Kong, 1993, pp110.

5

D Hong Kong Arts Centre

6

C 120 sq ft

7

D Kowloon Federation of Associations

8

C HK$ 1,840,000

9

A West Kowloon Reclamation District

10

/

11

A Quart Society

Ref: Hui Ching Shuen ( 許靜璇 ), "Painter Village ( 畫家村 )",Sing Dao Daily, 15 March 1990.

31

12

B No

(The Financial Secretary at that time was Donald Tsang.)

13

B Hong Kong Young Artist Association

14

B First edition of the Hong Kong
Contemporary Art Biennial

15

C HK$ 2,300-3,300

16

B Kwok Mang Ho / Frog King

20

A Free21

B HK$ 1,000

22

D By Asian region: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Korea, Japan23

C The 1994 Contemporary Hong Kong
Art Biennial

Ref: http://www.aaa.org.hk/Collection/Details/1570

24

C Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Bureau

25

C 199226

A Kat Hing Wai

Frog King image ref: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/culture/art/20060920/6329029

17

C HK$ 3,000

18

B Johnson Chang Tsong Zung

Ref: http://notsomoon.blogspot.hk/2012/02/blog-post_27.html
MOST
Ref: http://www.hktvl.com/Most.htm

19

B The Hong Kong Museum of Art's
first exhibition Too French

Too French exhibition catalogue cover
Ref: http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Arts/zh_TW/web/ma/
publication05.html

32

27

D Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir and Kai Tak Airport

28

The procedure for becoming a member ofthe Hong Kong Arts Centre is unclear.

29

CUHK: Chow Chun Fai, Kwan Sheung Chi
HKAS: Guy Cheung Chi Kai,
Ivy Fung Ching Ping, Gum Cheng Yee Man

Ref: 11. 6. 2002 Sing Pao Daily

30

D Photo Pictorial

45

31Club 71, Club 64, Sense 99, Visage One, 12bar(Formerly known as Quart Society)

Henry Moore in the exhibition
The Art Of Henry Moore

46

B 1a space and the Artist Commune

32

/

47

C Lim Por Yen Film Theatre

33

D Talking Art

48

B Leung Man Tao

34

F None of the above

49

C 200035

B The hardships of living in Hong Kongand Macau50

D 2013-14

51

The Sheng Post, The Golden Post,
The Happiness Post, The Green Post,
The Comic Strip Daily

52

B United Kingdom

53

D HK$ 24,500

54

B 24

55

C Article 34

Ref: "MA Jia Bao's Art" by Ng Ni Na, Camellia. 2010.
http://commons.ln.edu.hk/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=vs_etd
It was reported in Ta Kung Pao on 20 October 1967 that Ma Jiabao's solo
exhibition in October was cancelled by the British government with noactual reason. According to Ma's apprentices Wong Bei Man ( 黃伓民 ) and
Chung Yiu ( 鍾耀 ), "They cancelled Ma's exhibition because they believethat he is an extreme leftist and one of his paintings Reading Newspaper
really concerned them". In that painting, a man holding a newspaper withthe headline "Motherland Taking Great Leap Forward, Hong Kong and
Macao Compatriots Living with Hardship", which was really sensitive in atime of turmoil and it was understandable that the British government gotvery anxious about it and decided to ban Ma's exhibition in City Hall.

36

D Camouflage green

37

D Five samples within one month of publication

38

A Chinese restaurant

39

Roland Ip (visual arts) and Tang Siu Wah (literature)40

C Art Currents

41

C Three days

42

D The Arts Policy Review Report

43

B Three people / free /Hong Kong Police Headquarters

44

A Hong Kong Arts Centre33

34

INTERVIEWS

On Monitoring
Public Art Institutions
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

There was one question from our quiz, "TheHong Kong Museum of Art moved to its current
premises in Tsim Sha Tsui in 1991. That same year,
over 70 Hong Kong artists signed a petition to
the Hong Kong Museum of Art, expressing theirdissatisfaction. What instigated this petition?"
The answer was that their inaugural show,
Too French, sponsored by the Alliance Française, wasseen by Hong Kong artists as a gesture of showing
a lack of support to the local art scene. Had you
heard about this before?
No, I got to know about this on the Internet during
the research I did for the Art Quiz.
How do you feel about it?
It is understandable; some of them were highly
respected contemporary art masters, while theinauguration show of the local art museum intheir hometown was showcasing art from elsewhere,of course they would feel disrespected.
What is your impression of the Hong Kong
Museum of Art?
I sometimes go there for exhibitions, but theirpermanent exhibition is always the same,dull and lacks creativity. The hardware facilities
are not adequate enough to support the show.
What is the most recent exhibition you haveseen at the Hong Kong Museum of Art?
It probably was Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes
Eternal last year. Also The Origin of Dao:
New Dimensions in Chinese Contemporary Art.
From my observation, there has been an
improvement in the curatorial strategy of themuseum, and they are also going to have a majorrenovation, expand the exhibition hall, and havean addition of an entire floor. Do you have any
expectations for the transformation of the museum?
This is definitely good news. The expansion of theexhibition hall will provide more possibilities for
future exhibitions. Recently, the museum seems tohave increased its local artist exhibitions, hopefully
they will set their direction in this way.
36

28 July 2014

Evelyn CharDo you think the future M+ museum will be acompetitor to the Hong Kong Museum of Art?
The renovation of the Hong Kong Museum of
Art is probably competing against the M+ museum,
but there are still a few more years until M+ will
be completed.
Let's go back to the issue of the joint petition.
Do you think that Hong Kong artists should
execute their civil rights and monitor public
institutions such as art museums? At the same time,
does the city provide enough channels for us tovoice our opinions?
I think artists are the stakeholders of the art
museum; of course we have the responsibility tomonitor public institutions. Although LegComembers are supposed to represent us in their
meetings, we all know that they haven't fought for
us. We still need to help ourselves. Also, there is noway for us to monitor and express our views, notonly for the cultural and art sector, but all of us
seem to be facing this situation in which we comeout and protest, do petitions – and the government
keeps ignoring us and sets policies which neverconsider the citizens' needs.
Do you know that there was a Louis Vuitton
exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art?
I hadn't heard of it before...maybe it was held
right around the time when I left Hong Kong.
What happened?
It was an extension of Le French May's event, an
exhibition jointly organised by Foundation Louis
Vuitton and the Hong Kong Museum of Art, andit showed works by contemporary artists such as
Richard Prince. There was quite a scandal during
the exhibition, when the external wall of themuseum was hung with massive posters filled with
the LV monogram, as if the Hong Kong Museumof Art was the flagship store of Louis Vuitton,
which served a function of commercial promotion.
How do you feel about this?
LV is a commercial luxury brand; the hanging ofa monogram poster will simply commercialise themuseum. I don't think it's appropriate.

Some local artists sent a joint letter to theHong Kong Museum of Art saying it was thecommercialisation of a public institution; others
said it was just another form of Pop Art, which isfairly acceptable.
It's not the same thing. Even though Campbell's
Soup was a major inspiration in Andy Warhol's
creations, he was not promoting Campbell's Soup.
What did you think about our Art Quiz?
It was fantastic! I was not familiar with all the local
art history and news. After researching for the quiz,
I gained a deeper understanding of the local art
scene, and would like to keep an eye on updates andnews.
Did you study art?
I studied art history in the United Kingdom, andcompleted both my Bachelor and Masters degrees
in the UK, that's why I am not familiar with thelocal art scene.
Did you know anything about the Hong Kongart scene before heading to the United Kingdom
to study?
No. I didn't study art when I was in Hong Kong,
I did only basic oil painting and vaguely knew that
there were a group of painters in Hong Kong, but
I knew none of the local artists.
Your art history course's focus was on British andAmerican art history?
Yes, but I took Japanese art history too, andstarted learning Chinese contemporary art when
I started working.

37

Reflections on Themed Exhibitions
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

One question from the Art Quiz was, "Danny
Yung's installation In Search of New China in the
1990s was based on this photo of six leaders of
the Communist Party of China. Please name allof the people pictured." From left to right, we had
Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, Liu Shaoqi, Mao
Zedong, and Deng Xiaoping.
Had you seen this work by Danny Yung before?
No.
The concept behind the work was to express how
the leaders from different decades ruled mainland
China. Because of their political beliefs and policies,
they influenced an entire generation of mainland
Chinese. In a society where one person or a groupof people rule arbitrarily, you can see how thesovereign exercises absolute authority. What did you
think about this? Had you heard of Danny Yung
before?
I can't think of anything now. I had heard ofDanny Yung before.
Because of his theatrical productions?
No, I probably heard about him from Lee Kit.

Halley Cheng

one part that required students to do a collective
re-creation of one of Lui's work, but I could notunderstand what is was for, and I didn't participate.
Some believe these quantified grand exhibitions
are just money piling. They claim these are for thepromotion of cultural development, but they nevercare about the quality and the way of presenting,more likely it's a kind of a soft cultural invasion.
How do you feel about that?
Actually all ADC (Hong Kong Arts Development
Council) funded events are more or less the same.
Have you benefited from ADC funding before?
No, not even as a sponsor for my solo exhibition.
Is it because you didn't apply for such funding?
I'm kind of too busy to apply – and I am currently
fine and don't feel like I need to apply for funding.
So what is your profession?
I am now a full-time artist, I previously worked asa research assistant and a teaching assistant when I
was doing my Master's degree.

Another question was, "How many artists
participated in the Hong Kong Art Circle Celebrates
Hong Kong's 10th Handover Anniversary Exhibition?"and the answer was approximately 1,000. Whatis your view of this kind of "propaganda" type ofgroup exhibition, these vast, themed exhibitions
that promote certain ideologies? What is your view
about an exhibition with a thematic curatorial
approach, but with less works and more of a focus
on certain artists?

Do you have any expectations of the ADC?

I have participated in one of these large-scale
exhibitions before, the name I think was
Ink Art vs. Ink Art.

It is difficult to judge. Some may think the ADC
does not effectively allocate resources to suitablepeople. However, there aren't any guidelines orreferences for who would be "suitable." An obvious
example is that there must be more part-timeartists than us. Part-time artists do have passion increation, so how should the resources be allocated?

Could you talk more about your experience of yourparticipation in that?
It was a show that involved more than 50 artists.
I can only remember Ou Da Wei complained theorganisers had punched through his calligraphy.
I had participated in shows like Lui Chun Kwong.
You Are Here, I Am Not. From Ho Siu Kei to Kong
Chun Hei which had a strong theme. There was38

28 July 2014

Personally, no. Actually, I am not really familiar
with their operations – there is a rumour that
the ADC only distributes money, without muchconsideration.
As a public institution, if they do not distributeresources in that way, most of the artists will
struggle more in making a living.

I think it is a problem of the ADC being solely incharge of the examination, assessment, and fundingof all art practitioners. Maybe we could adopt
Taiwan's structure, a few different systems that
support different categories of artists. If someone

works for more than ten years in a field, he canapply for funding from a different funding body,in order to reduce competition. Do you think thisis a possibility?
Could they establish a similar policy in the ADC?
I think they are simply not responding.
It doesn't necessarily imply that someone is eligible
to have the funding even if he works in the field forover ten years! This is still highly debatable. I am
not familiar with the internal operation therefore
I am not suitable to make any comments. The
rumour of Lee Kit's participation in the Venice
Biennial... actually why was there such a scandal?
Previously the ADC had openly invited arts groups
and individuals to submit their proposals; however,
without having any public enquiry, suddenly theycollaborated with M+ – and M+ was in charge of
proposing an exhibition of an artist. This is why
people had the feeling that the ADC's appointmentof M+ to organise the Hong Kong exhibition in the
Venice Biennale was a black box operation – nottransparent. I believe that their consideration was
more about: how could things be executed more
effectively? And they thought that a collaboration
would be the easiest and the quickest way of picking
a representing artist. While they did not consider
that the ADC or the assessment panels were just a
representative role of the public, they should consider
the rights of the public in making a selection.

The participating artists? Yes. The organisers? No,
it's not forgivable.
But why should we make this comparison?
Sometimes, even with a curator, the exhibition is
not necessarily well-organised, or in some cases
is not necessarily related to politics or income,it could be completely out of a herd mentality –because when most of the artists are involved it isembarrassing or arrogant not to participate, just likewhen I participated in Lui Chun Kwong. You Are
Here, I Am Not. From Ho Siu Kei to Kong Chun Hei.
So sometimes these large group shows with huge
numbers of participating artists can also have theirsignificance at the time.
I agree that group shows like these may not all
be bad, but first of all the exhibition should haveits own way of categorisation and analysis, andit should avoid a quantitative, opportunistic
approach.

Yes.
Do you have any questions or is there anything
remarkable about this?
Not really, but this was a well-hosted event.
I was a bit shocked when you, as an artist, said you
hadn't actually seen Danny Yung's work before.
Maybe you were still young at the time... He wasvery active in the cultural sector during the '80s and'90s. He actually just left the board of the WKCDA(West Kowloon Cultural District Authority). I am
sad that we have so much talent in Hong Kong, butthere aren't any good systems to help retain them.
There is a situation that those of us from thecontemporary art world generally do have a low
opinion on the exhibitions that the Pro-Beijingorganisations organise. However, some artists
participate in the shows simply because they
couldn't get into the fine art circle, and therefore
had a rare chance of participating in contemporary
art exhibitions. Despite the political aims andideologies of these exhibitions, they join the
exhibitions in order to get their work shown andearn some income.
So you think one can sympathise?
39

Dislocation and Experimental
Photography
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

One of our questions was: "In 1993, Li Ka Shingcollaborated with some artists to publish
a photography periodical named Dislocation. Whichof the following magazines was it published with?"
The answer was Photo Pictorial. Dislocation had its
own curatorial strategy and published photographic
works that carried a strong experimental style. Did
you ever read this magazine?
I didn't read it when it was first published in 1993.
It wasn't until it resumed publishing in 2003 that I
became their reader, two years before Photo Pictorial
ceased its publication. Dislocation was a loose-pagepublication that came along with Photo Pictorial atthat time.
Does Photo Pictorial no longer exist now?
Yes, it's been shut down for a couple of years now.
Photo Pictorial was very influential. The Hong
Kong International Photo Festival this year has its
themed exhibition about the magazine at HKDI
Gallery in Tiu Keng Leng; the opening is soon. It
will be worth paying a visit to the exhibition. Sylvia
Ng worked in Photo Pictorial from the very firstissue until her retirement, she is apparently the wifeof Photo Pictorial's founder, who was Mak Fung'sson.
Are there any photography magazines inHong Kong now?
We have only magazines for photographic
equipment, like Photog. Every once in a while
they may have some coverage on photographic
exhibitions, but they rarely have features on thediscussion of photographic work, maybe none. If
there is an interview of a photographic artist, it will
either be in The Stand News or Art Plus.
As a photographic artist, which platform do you
prefer having your work published in: traditional
print, online platforms, or a gallery?
Each has its advantages and disadvantages – itis easier to hit your target audience if you do
consignment sales with a gallery. If you have yourwork published in traditional print, you can't avoid
making contact with those technology magazines.
The best thing about publishing your work online
40

28 August 2014

Martin Cheungis that it can reach a wider public, however,your work may also be mixed with artificiallymodified photos. I prefer having my work displayed
in a proper gallery. I can take full control of theframing, the arrangement of space and way it isbeing displayed.
How is the development of photographic art inHong Kong?
Most seem more focused on the use of equipment.
Actually this is only one part of photographic art, but
outsiders tend to focus simply on the technical level.
Amateurs often put their focus on technical level
stuff. When they see a brilliant photographic work,
their concern will be the configuration of the camera
the work was shot with, the choice of output...
The mass media are doing the same thing; they
stress the production methods as the reporting
highlights, they popularise the professional terms
and they consume photographic art. [The gallery]
Harbour City exhibited Naoki Honjo's works a
few years ago. He is a Japanese photographer who
uses a large-format camera with a tilt-shift lens toshoot aerial photos of cities that look like miniaturemodels of places. At the time of the show, there
was a boom of related coverage about the shooting
technique and the equipment. Various camera
manufacturers subsequently released cameras withan in-built tilt-shift shooting mode. Now, you caneven download the effect via an app on your smart
phone. However, there were hardly any articles
exploring the motif behind his work.
This is a universal phenomenon; Hong Kongis not the only case. Anyone could compile theinformation and write an article. However, if it
involves the context of work, you need to find aknowledgeable writer who has insight, which isrelatively hard to find in Hong Kong. It is a rarecase to find a magazine editor with a concentrationin visual art. So this is the only choice to write up
this kind of article quickly. After all, Hong Kongis a fast-paced commercial city and this kind ofpractice could be justified.
Dislocation is still widely discussed after so many
years. What was so special about it, that made it
so important?

As you have said, it covered so much experimental
stuff. Photo Pictorial is comparatively conservative.
You could find tutorials from "how to shoot a good
lotus flower" to "how to shoot a silhouette", which ismore technical. Dislocation was co-founded by Li Ka
Shing, Lau Ching Ping, and Wong Kai Yu. They were
just like us at the time, in their early 30s with a steadyincome and as a sense of maturity, they thought theyshould carry out the mission of contributing to theliterary circle after June the Fourth.
Sylvia Ng from Photo Pictorial, as a senior editor
she was really open-minded and willing to help
the junior staff. Try to imagine a group of readers
who were used to conventional newspapers andpublications suddenly seeing the photographs
in Dislocation; those blurry focused photos,
which subverted tradition. It created an impact.
Moreover, Photo Pictorial was the only Hong Kong
photography magazine that could be officially
imported into mainland China at that time; sothe birth of Dislocation definitely did influence
mainland photographers. It was the time whenpeople were still using traditional film for shooting,they would be curious about how to achieve theeffects in those experimental photos, but Dislocation
seldom explored this aspect.
Later, when Dislocation was reissued, Li Ka Shing
had already migrated and many of those articles
were sent from elsewhere, they did not place a
restriction on the writer's origin, some of the articles
were from foreign writers and they would also write
about experimental photography. Dislocation also
attracted some of the professional photography
lovers, like Dr Lee Chee Fong, to become followersof experimental photography.
Now, even if I could attend the Dislocation themed
exhibition and meet that generation who pioneered
it, I would feel like it would be hard to open
up a conversation with them as we don't knoweach other. People feel nostalgic for the days of
Dislocation, with the leading role of Li Ka Shing,
and the literati like Wong Kai Yu and Lau Ching
Ping. Together they could bridge the wide gapof age groups and classes and gather people. By
contrast, nowadays Hong Kong people are more
and more conservative and they really believe inauthority. They visit Openrice.com to check thereviews before deciding where they will dine; they
check with film reviews before deciding if they aregoing to watch a movie. I believe, as an artist, youmust be adventurous enough to do a trial and fail.
This is the only way to make something that shines.

41

Listed Historical Architecture and
Its Adaptation for Art and Culture
Text by Winnie Fung | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

We have picked one-to-two questions for every
artist and would like to have further discussion
around them. The two questions we have picked foryou are related to the reuse of historical buildings
and their conditions while in use. I know you havebeen concerned about the change of use of the
AVA (Hong Kong Baptist University's Academy ofVisual Arts), so I guess you might want to express
your views. Let me read the first question and see if
you would like to comment on this.
The first question is, "Western Market wasredesigned by the Land Development Corporationin 1992, what was the top floor of the market
originally intended for?" The answer was for art
exhibitions. There was a society called the Hong
Kong Artists' Guild that attempted to have ayear-round show there. The Land Development
Corporation provided free space, while the Hong
Kong Artists' Guild ran the operation management.
Everyone could rent the space for exhibitions, but
the electricity bill and the manual labor work wereat their own expense. It was approximately 700 sq
ft while you needed to pay HK$ 4,000 in handlingcharges for just six days, while a member could
enjoy the discounted price of HK$ 3,000. Did you
know about this original status of Western Market?
I don't know about it in detail but I did know thatit had been used as an arts venue, and it is now a
Chinese restaurant, from the third floor to the top
floor. I know this because I attended a banquet
there. It was previously a venue for concerts or
performances, I heard people singing whenever I
passed by.
The floor of the restaurant, or the floor above?
Is there an extra floor?
Yes, previously Kith Tsang had his design studiothere. I visited his place where it was still there.
The last time I visited there, the passages to thestairs were locked. I guess the top floor has been
locked for a few years already. It is not accessible tothe public.
Historical buildings like Western Market are
more than a century old. However, for somemiscellaneous reasons and despite people putting
42

16 July 2014

Reds Cheung

in an effort to transform the space for culture andart in the 1990s, it eventually failed. When we lookback, from the 90s to 00s, we are now in 2014 andmost of the related revitalisation schemes didn't last
for long. Can you share your view on this?
I guess there are many reasons. The first one
I have in mind is that the government, despite
going through a strict assessment process toapprove public institutions for heritage projects,
were weak in doing the follow-up and continuous
assessments. They might slack off at work andfollow the common practices, and be reluctant tochange. Also they have tended to not look into the
problem. Eventually, these art spaces have a lackof maintenance, and if the space is located in a
private development, it might go against its original
proposal and eventually give up the function of thearts space. The revitalisation of heritage will turnout to be another thing.
I am currently doing an artist residency at the
Bamboo Curtain Studio, Taiwan. It's such a
coincidence because I visited an art space thesepast two days, and the name is Taiwan Artists'
Guild. They are handling... (actually I do not know
about the Hong Kong Artists' Guild and theirbackground). However, I do think their runningmodel is quite inspiring. They charge and are formed
by a few dozen artist communities... Sorry, I mixedthat up; they do not charge, instead, they receive
support from the government or corporate backers,
so as to run a space with sufficient funds. Moreover,they can provide open studios to the artists who meettheir requirements, such as artists with insufficient
funds, etc.
I would like to have a follow up question. Where
did the Hong Kong Artists' Guild get their funding
from? I mean, the largest portion of funding
except for the grant of the venue from the Land
Development Corporation?
I don't know either. I got to know of this guildfrom a '92 newspaper story, the society is no longer
operating.
What a pity, if we could form an alliance together,
we could fight for many things. Then it extends
to something we're really concerned about... But

let me ask the second question first, and it isalso about the revitalisation of heritage. You justmentioned the government can't be bothered tocheck revitalisation projects case-by-case. The
Fringe Club is currently under maintenance, its had
its top floor transformed into a photography gallery
and restaurant for a period of time. It used to be apainting studio in 1986. Initially a group of artists
made the rooftop their painting studio, including
Mak Hin Yeung, Yank Wong, Hon Wai Hong...
I don't know if you have read the news or not.
When The Pottery Workshop moved out from theFringe Club there were already some independent
media interviewing those artists. One of the online
videos was narrating the situation – at the beginning
the Fringe Club's condition was not satisfactory, forexample, the interiors. But people could sense thatthey could work it out together. Another example
is, some of the artists didn't pay any rent, but theywould help in tidying up the Fringe Club, and thiswas their way to operate. Sometimes they taught,
free of charge, and students would always pay avisit to the studio, like a form of apprenticeship. To
me the apprenticeship implies intimacy, but now
things have changed. Of course, the Fringe Club
have their own reasons: it is a listed building andit needs maintenance, and this adds an extra cost.
Now we have two sides: one side is, in my opinion,an organic way of development which artists would
prefer more; the other side is, the operational or
financial difficulties for the institutions. What are
your thoughts on this?
I watched that video. I would like to know if
the Fringe Club is now privately owned or is it agovernment property?
The ownership should belong to the government,
but the Fringe Club rent it with a nominal cost of
HK$ 1, and they are self-supporting.
I could picture their "self-supporting" part. The art
space there is not huge, not big enough to support
having artists studios and a performance venue at thesame time. As I know the Fringe Club serves a crucial
function for musicals, and from time-to-time there
will be musical performances from bands like Beyond
playing. In reality, it comes to a dilemma. Although
I agree that artist-run-spaces should operate in an
organic way, it's better to be a self-emerging space. I
felt sorry to hear The Pottery Workshop's story; they
were well established, and forced to leave because of
the space. At the same time, I have the impressionthat the space can be more utilised, and it shouldhave its own running strategy.

for our right to use it because we loved the space.
Secondly, when we thought further about it wenoticed that there was a lack of attention in theuse of the space for art education. We witnessed
the obstacles different institutions were facing, forexample, for the Hong Kong Arts Centre's Arts
School and the Chinese University of Hong Kong,
most of us heard their stories. According to ourseniors, I know that the AVA is already the lucky
one. In fact we have been benefitting from the space
and we clearly know where the privilege is. I am
not going to mention it in detail. People from theindustry clearly know how important it is to havethis space, while our government fails to realise it.
So from one end, we need to keep it for a romantic
reason, on the other hand we had a mission ofbringing out this message.
The second thing is, it's been hard to communicate
with different government departments whenever
we have encountered problems or have needed tostate our beliefs. The University Grants Committee,
the department responsible for university funding,has a universal formula towards source allocation.
The calculation for needed space is based onheadcounts, in other words, an economics student
and an art student, in the viewpoint of the UGC,
need the same area of space for their studies. Thisis really outrageous. Even if we knew that we could
not find a way to change the result, we needed to
put in an enormous effort. We brought this to thetable and discussed it with the vice chancellors andthey agreed that it would be difficult to change
because the problem was originating from thesystem itself. We were rushing for the deadlines.
We only had three months time from the moment
we knew the lease was going to expire. We could
not handle such a big issue. Until now, we could
only say we have brought it to the table, but notmuch has been done to further influence things. It
largely depends upon how we are going to utilise
our space, and accumulate our bargaining power.
There are a lot of obstacles as we are fresh, just agroup of youngsters working our asses off. We do
not have any practical experience, not to mention
any involvement in social activism. We only had theexperience of organising people at school; luckily
there have been people offering help. I remember
you both have helped us.

Do you have anything to share of your experiences
fighting for the Kai Tak Campus [of the Academyof Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University]?
The original belief was quite romantic: we fought
43

From the Membership System of
the Hong Kong Arts Centre to
Post-97 Major Cultural Exchange
Programmes
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

For the question from the Art Quiz, "Please state
the procedure for becoming a member of theHong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC)," we checkedwith the material the HKAC submitted to theWest Kowloon Cultural Authority and it stated"HKAC has a Board of Governors of 15 people;
the Governors represent the interests of members.
We welcome all citizens and registered organisations
to become individual and organisational members.
After becoming members, the public can nominate
or be nominated as candidates of the Board ofGovernors. Those elected will join the Board ofGovernors." We phoned to enquire further andcould not find any clear answers. What do you
think about this?
As an individual who cares about art and culture,
first of all I think that, technically-speaking,they failed to provide a clear method for applying
for membership. Secondly, I have not seen any
promotion from the HKAC for their membership;
therefore citizens have no idea that they have theright to join a semi-official institution. It feels likethere is no regulation at all: they make internal
decisions and bypass formal procedures. Earlier,the MCCM bookstore had its lease contract
terminated by the HKAC. Once HKAC had taken
advantage, MCCM got dumped. This was not thefirst case, however, we had no way to complain
and look for justice. The MCCM case should
be handled by the department which originallygranted the land to the HKAC; while if it isinvolved in cultural policy and development, thenit is the responsibility of the ADC (Hong Kong
Arts Development Council). Considering theright of the land may belon g to the Development
Bureau... Anyway, the main point is that the
HKAC must respond to and take the initiative toreport things to the public.
In addition to this, Hong Kong has a lot of NGOs
like the Artist Commune. They first form a boardof directors and then register it as a charitableorganisation.
44

30 August 2014

May Fung

As charitable organisations, they must have hosted
charity events, like donations or free service s for the
public according to the ordinances. I am not certain
about the licensing of a "charitable organisation".
I have another concern. It would definitely be an
ideal situation if the monitoring of groups andboards could be open to public participation.
However, would there then be a possibility of
attracting people with ulterior motives who wouldintervene with the operations of society?
I have a similar concern; especially as we are now
living in a time of political instability. I agree thatthe HKAC should act carefully at this stage toprevent the interruption to the centre's operations.
I would tend towards setting up a "friends of theinstitution" membership system rather than anopen system for the board of directors; so theinstitution can have greater flexibility in recruiting
participants without intervening in the operation of
the institution itself.
In August 1997, the Festival of Cultures 97Contemporary Art and Culture from Hong Kong,
China was hosted in Munich, Germany, and lasted
for 18 days. They received HK$ 2.3 million in
funding and more than 60 people were involved,
yet none of the Hong Kong government officials
attended the event.
I would never know that the government funded
this event if you hadn't mentioned it! I was oneof the participants, and also was involved in thenegotiation of the event with the German side, but
no-one had ever mentioned the event had received
the government's support.
I am uncertain about the details. The information
only showed the expense of HK$ 2.3 million.
HK$ 2.3 million should not be the total cost.
Danny Yung and Leung Mee Ping both had a giant
exhibited work. I did performance art with otherparticipating artists, and we occupied a huge venue.
It was a massive show.
I am pretty shocked too. How come there was no
official attendance for such a grand scale, Hong
Kong contemporary art exhibition?
It might be due to the reason that the Hong Kong
government didn't actually put in any effort.
The German side was involved the most in thewhole event.
I remember the government did subsidise the event,
but was not the main supporter.
It happened too long ago; I wonder if we could still
access the relevant information? I don't rememberthat the government treated it as a major event.
Has there been any similar style of a major exchange
programme organised in the time since then?
Yes, like Hong Kong in Berlin where Hong Kongartists built a huge bamboo structure in Berlin.
Zuni Icosahedron participated as well, it was also alarge-scale exhibition. That time it was government
funded; quite a number of officials flew to Berlin for
the exhibition.
I watched their Hong Kong section; it was reallywell-organised.
I have curated an installation art exchange exhibition
and invited many international artists, including
Czech artists, to the exhibition. It should havebeen at least this scale! The LCSD (Leisure andCultural Services Department) and the government
departments have never been organising any major
exhibitions. I worked my ass off, bargaining for air
tickets and sponsors in order to make this successful
exhibition possible. This was a precious experience.
We have more resources and talents now, why can't
we have anything similar now?
Frankly speaking, it all depended on Zuni's ability
at that time. They had a vision and were very
ambitious; they dared to make a bold attempt.
They just got their three-year funding from thegovernment and asked me to help them. I originallyplanned to work there for a year, and started with the
preparation of the Berlin exhibition. I collaborated
with Zuni for a few more years after I left there,
as a curator. It was right after the Handover andforeigners were still very interested in Hong Kong's
situation; Mathias Woo and Danny Yung were in
their golden years, they established their extensive
relationship network abroad, and published many
cultural policies. We, as the administrative staff,
gathered our resources and got the support fromthe business and cultural sectors, and finally we
could work our things out. Therefore we must learn

to handle our civil power, this solidarity and force
are what the government lacks. It brings many
constraints to rely on the government's support.
I attended the forum in Berlin and Mathias Woo
was there too. He was well perceived and had attained
academic recognition. That was a time of Berlin's
booming development and it had become a cultural
centre. We met many art organisations and artists
there and some formed long term partnerships or
exchange relationships, which rarely happens inHong Kong.
You can't refute how much of a leading role Zuni
played from the '80s to '00s, they generated a great
power for pushing culture forward. I've taken thisas a major source of inspiration to this day – I am
always preparing to do meaningful events and havean impact on Hong Kong culture.
Like you two at C&G, you have so much supportand help from your artist peers, and organised anentertaining event like the Hong Kong Art Quiz.
Yet I suggest you should make more bold projects,
do something more edgy and critical, because many
audience members are of the younger generation,
they may not know about the particular history andsocial implications of all these questions. You may
ask it this way, "Why did the government organise
the first Hong Kong Festival?" Naturally it would
touch upon June the Fourth, the 1967 Leftist
Riots, the Cultural Revolution, and the comforting
measures of the colonial ruling government;
there are sensitive social issues and an historicalbackground, so introduce these areas of knowledge
to the younger generation.
Have you participated in any Hong Kong Festivals?
I was too young to join. I was only in my earlytwenties when the first Hong Kong Arts Festival washeld in 1972, and could not be counted as a cultural
practitioner at that time. I was busy working to feed
my family. I completed my Bachelor and Masters
degrees later but still did not have a clear conceptof ideology. At that time many people were driven
by their passion and were becoming Red Guards,
someone persuaded me to join too, but he failed.
Scholarism is a group of passionate students, too.
I believe they are doing the right thing, however
they could be more radical, stand firm, and theymust not compromise with those who are proBeijing. Together we need to force the government
to implement universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
Therefore, even historically or politically sensitive
issues and problems, they still teach us a lesson –we must push forward the people's passion in somecases, while at others times we also need to know
how to stop, and return to a rational level. We willcontinue to improve only in this way.

45

International Art Fairs
and Their Relationship with
Hong Kong Art
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

Let me repeat the question: "In 2014, there were
245 galleries participating in Art Basel Hong Kong.
How many of them were based in Hong Kong?"
The answer was 24.
Such a big event with the participation of local
galleries at 24, which is less than 10%. What do
you think of this phenomenon?

Hanison Lau

fair, and what else could they get except the direct
sales profit? Of course, artists could benefit fromthe income, which is crucial to them too. However,
could there be more long-term benefit andinfluence?
Did any of the students you teach in secondary
school go to Art Basel?

It's such a big game. I would pay attention to
the participation of Hong Kong artists in each
edition of the fair and think about the mechanisms
behind it. It is ironic to know that Hong Kongartists have such a low rate of participation in thisgame, and I wonder what they think about thiscelebratory event? Maybe they would think that
this is a pure money game, and question, are there
any positive effects that it can contribute to society?
Could it be a role to promote art? This depends on
the relationship between artists and galleries.

I had introduced them to the show, andunfortunately we only had a few complimentary
tickets, some arrived at the venue without a ticket,
and so finally just a few of them went into the fair.
They are still secondary school students and could
not afford the costly tickets. This makes me feellike the whole fair is actually a grand occasion for asmall circle, which is more problematic than the art
fair itself, which put business as its first priority.

Before being taken over by the MCH group, quite
a number of Hong Kong galleries did participate
in the Hong Kong Art Fair. However, some of
the galleries claim that the fair now does a heavy
screening and many galleries cannot gain entry
into the fair. I discovered that this is a 90%
commercial event.

They thought that they had been in a vast forest.
The whole experience could be really short, in just
two hours you could see works from all around theworld, but there were too many of them and they
were all mixed up, there were no themes to organise
how the works were displayed. If the students
didn't know much about art, it would be hard forthem to understand the work and they might noteven try to find out the messages behind the works,
they could only give superficial comments andwould not be able to learn much. I think it's such a
waste, it would be great if they could organise moreguided tours or school-oriented programmes, toput more effort into art education, this would reallyhelp to improve the situation.

Yes. That's why many people are puzzled about therelationship between art and "Art Basel" despite thefact that the fair is filled with artworks, it is more
likely a showing off of money.
To evaluate it from a positive side, does this event
raise public awareness of art? Or is it an unhealthytype of attention? How would you comment on this?
I think this kind of attention does not last for long.
The general public will only perceive it as an eventor a trend, they are there for the atmosphere. They
are taking snapshots, they check-in and assume thatthey have participated in an art event, but will Art
Basel lead to a continuous participation in local
art events or will it make people more conscious ofwhat is happening in the city? I doubt it.
There are only a few local artists that got into the46

16 July 2014

So how did those students who saw the fair, find it?

Let's move to the second question: "In which year's
HKSAR Budget Speech was the term 'Art Fairs'
mentioned?" The answer was 2013-14. This was
the first year that Art Basel was held. It was a rarecase where an art incident was really valued bygovernment policy. Can you share your views of this?
I thought this was quite good in the very beginningbecause the government was paying attention. But
later on, I thought a little bit deeper about it andstarted to question whether the government was
doing this purely for art's sake. It was debatableand probably was more because it could raise theimage of Hong Kong internationally.
Going back to what we discussed about students
visiting Art Basel and the Budget Speech, wereally need some infrastructure to support art
education in the public sphere. For example thepurchasing of admission tickets, providing guided
tours, etc. Discussing with them through official
channels, what can the government actually do?
In such a rare occasion, works from around theworld were being showcased in Hong Kong,the hardware was all in place and the government
only needed to work on the software, such as
docent tours, talks for students... these things
are needed and are not too complicated to
implement. Staff members of the organisers or
local artists could have helped on this.
The organisers may see it from a commercial
perspective, that they don't have the responsibility
to do this, but the government should take it up...

particularly remarkable to you during Art Basel?
To be honest, I have a total blank mind. There was
too much and it was too packed. Occasionally,
I met an interesting work, but I could not find myway back to it and missed it.
Did you pay a visit to the Hong Kong galleries to
pay your support?
Yes, some of my friends had their works displayedin the fair, and I would check if they were taken.
Do you expect to have your work displayed in
the art fair?
Actually my work has been shown and was shownto collectors. My impression is there isn't any big
difference between an art fair and a commercial
gallery sale, and I was not particularly happy about
this. The sale depends on fate, and I do not see thefair as a show, it is just a place of trade.

Exactly. The organisers don't think students are
their target customers.
The Salon Talks in Art Basel last year were open
to public but the talks this year were rather
disappointing because you needed an admission
ticket to attend them.
I think the first edition was done better. They
offered more complimentary tickets as well as
accepting on-site registration for free entry but
they are steering towards a more strict direction. I
hope it will be improved upon next year.
So... Do you have any comments about the whole
Art Quiz?
Let's make it an annual event.
(Laughs) Could we take turns to host the event?
It could really be an annual event, maybe
slightly varying the format, but it was such great
fun playing with lots of artists. It could be analternative to an exhibition, where we can alllearn a lot through participating. I hope it could
become a regular event, like the Hong Kong Film
Awards, or the Biennale...
Would it be too short if it lasted only two hours?
Of course that would not be enough, you could
add a few more sections, and make them morerich in context.
Did you feel that any gallery, section, or work was
47

Local Platforms for Comics andthe Structural Problems inHong Kong's Cultural Environment
Text by Ariel Ng | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

Since you are an expert in the world of comics,
I would like to repeat a question from the quiz:"There were quite a number of comic dailies in the'70s, please name one of these." Have you ever readany of these publications?
No. Even if I did read them, it was during mychildhood and I have no memory of it now.
All of these dailies were comics.
I may have read about some of them later via Aclub,
a comic magazine.
During that period of time, there was The Sheng
Post, The Golden Post, The Happiness Post, The Green
Post, and The Comic Strip Daily. In those days,
comics could be sucessfully published everyday for ayear or two, but this is seldom seen nowadays. How
do you feel about this?
It's because of the changes in reading habits.
It was a time when creating content, like comics,
could make you a fortune. However, due tobusiness concerns, dailies have shifted their focus
to reportage these days. However, I have faith thatcreating content will return.
So when will it return, in your estimation?
I think we're almost there... after web 2.0, theestablishment of platform hegemony, no any one
platform stands anymore. In a society that believes
in utilitarianism, people tend to take the easy
way out. People tend to promote on Facebook
rather than establish a form of new social media.
Therefore, the promotion of content on Facebook
has become really important.
That's why more and more cartoonists share theirwork online?
Yes, the platform for the young generation is basedon themselves standing up. Once their creation
has gained popularity after they publish, they
can succeed, such as cartoonists like Jasmine Tse.
I believe that her success at the Book Fair relied48

20 July 2014

Law Man Lok

heavily on these channels. The existence of thesecartoonists and also their comics being published
are because of the content they have created.
The comic used to appear as a comic strip, issueby-issue, mainly running in a series. But this has
become rare. Instead, nowadays it tends to be
published as a short story, usually ending after a few
standard forms. What do you think about this trend?
It's a change in the mode. There used to be aposition, a platform for you to publish in a series.
As people can now easily find online sources todownload various comic series, it has directly
impacted the sales of the physical publication andeventually affected the cartoonists also. Publishingsomething long-term is hard to sustain in HongKong. Sometimes, it is already a useful channel
for you to publish in a daily over the weekend,
therefore a comprehensive structure with an ending
is required, an industrial-like model.
There were less comics imported from othercountries, which made local comics stand out inthe '70s. Now there are more and more comics
imported from Japan, Europe, and the UnitedStates. How do you see these? Do you think it has apositive effect on local comics?
I think the influence is two-way, in terms of thecreativity of the cartoonist. It basically depends onwhich country's comic a consumer chooses. And
the operation of a comic can affect its sustainability
and quality in publication. We see a blooming Hong
Kong comics scene but it all will crash down without
further support. Actually there are quite a number ofhigh quality works, like Cockroach and works by Chi
Hoi. When the main platform fails to sustain, themainstream comics will fall at the same time.
Let's talk about another question for a moment:"Which of the following was the earliest art biennial
in Asia?" The answer was the one from Hong Kong.
Although Hong Kong uses the name "biennial,"
its operating model is different from international
biennials. How do you feel about this? Why would

the Hong Kong Museum of Art insist to use"biennial" in the name?
It's a copied product under an organisational
system in a limited company. Art is something thatis hard to quantify as to attain a public standard
and to convince the taxpayers as a result. Therefore,
they use a competition to avoid the problem, which
creates the panel of judges, a similar group of people
for a billion years. The names are disconnectedto the context and the guiding principles. It is
no different when compared with those mature
painting and art competitions. Therefore it has
produced this weird consequence.
There were four Contemporary Hong Kong Art
Exhibitions between 1962 and 1972. There wasa public collection of works. By that time, it was
not called a biennial. The name changed to theContemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial exhibitionin 1975 and it became the Hong Kong Art Biennial
in 2001 and Hong Kong Contemporary Art
Biennial Awards from 2009. The title proves thatthey considered contemporary arts in the '70s andthey tried to use a competition to pretend to be fair.
I cannot understand how the "biennial" is related,
indeed the biennial awards are more honest.
Because it's practically a competion and my friends
participating in it see it as a Mark Six [Hong Kong's
lottery]. It's all about luck.
Have you ever joined it?
Of couse, it's the Mark Six, why not?
Were you shortlisted?
Yes, in 2004.
What kind of work was it?
A painting.
Your painting was shortlisted?
Sure, although there was no further award after
being shortlisted.
I think the organisational structure of the Hong
Kong Museum of Art is influential. The executive
related party has too much power. It relies heavily
on consultancy. And those consultants are always
the same group of people.
Yes, the problem goes back to the same groupof people on a panel. There are no issues and nodata to set up a standard. The result is a lack oftransparency.
Why would the art industry in Hong Kong go
to two such extremes? We criticise the executive-led

direction and its lack of flexiblity. And M+ in
West Kowloon is alienated, because it is notcoherent with local culture and makes no roomfor development.
Sure. The problem with M+ is obviously that itsolely depends on foriegn coordinators, which has
led to a lack of localisation, despite the massive
resource it possesess. Under such an international
point of view, Hong Kong can easily disappear.
Without the people to generate it, it cannot
even publish a history book. As a result, how
can we negotiate with international resourcesand organisational structures about the issue of
localisation? Therefore, it never exists. You wantto make local culture stand out, but at the sametime you want to attain international approval.
Therefore, things become elegant, with lots ofpeople, a high popularity and cost. You can see
the official bodies prefer certain kinds of work.
Such standards result in a blindspot to oversee
some work. And it divides the art industry into
an organisational party and a party not in power.
The existence of M+ strengthens this problem,
such as people like Clifton Ko.
So let's then talk about the third question, which
is somehow related. "Which of the following
government departments was responsible for the
management of the Oil Street Artist Village, whichfrom 1998-99 took up many vacant spaces in theformer Government Supplies Department?" And
the answer is the Government Property Agency.
Did you ever go to the Oil Street Artist Village?
Sure.
Do you agree it was a more ideal operational modelin Oil Street's case?
Yes. Regardless of the aspects of aesthetics or theuse of public space, it urged the establishment of anart organisation and it provided real convenience toartists. However there was no time for it to further
develop. It could have been even more amazing.
As the first artist village in Hong Kong, comparedwith the Cattle Depot Artist Village and JCCAC,
the Oil Street Artist Village was managed in a bit ofa messy way.
This is exactly the problem when something
fundamental cannot be facilitated. Take the Cattle
Depot Artist Village as an example; people holding
events there have to present their ID verification
because it is a historical venue, which really hinders
its flexibility. Compared with Oil Street, thelocation of the Cattle Depot is inaccessible. Besides,
it's hard to understand when compared with othercultural villages, where they let artists initiate things
first and bring popularity to the place. I was amazedby a model used in Denmark. They allowed the49market to operate early in the morning and closeearlier. The industrial area was then available atnight for artists to create in. That's fabulous!
That was initaited by the government or a
local party?
The government was in the middle of this to help
facilitate, for instance, for those who could notopen a restaurant, the government opened theapplication for food and alcohol licenses. Actually, atiny amount of policy support can make the wholething much smoother.
You mean, if there is a department which can help
with coordination from the top down, this can help?
Indeed if a bureacratic type of thinking operates,
problems will exist. If every department has a staff
person to handle culture-related work or who
possess culture-related ways of thinking and canhelp with coordination, this is more important.
Take for example, there is a department for public
art in the Hong Kong government, but when
the Highways Department and the Electricaland Mechanical Services Department would liketo incorporate some artistic elements in theirprojects, they will form their own task forces. In
other works, public art is not solely managed by
the public art group. I believe even if there wasa Cultural Bureau that possessed power, due tomisunderstandings, problems would still exist.
Therefore, it's not simply about power but theattitudes and thinking of workers in different
positions.
I'm afraid it will take a few generations to change.
Yes, the design of Hong Kong Central Libraryreflects this also. Why would they choose this ugly
design? The value behind it is still in question. Was
it only about efficiency and price? How much dothey care about aesthetics?
Officers have to be re-educated.
Yes. Culture and art is very important in every
position of society. Take for example, some narrowcorner or road, perhaps there are many traffic
signs stuck in the same location. Actually, can the
Highways Department consolidate these designs?
This tiny thing, no matter whether it's about art ornot, can be improved by a simple change of mind.

50

Brief Talk on the '90s
Text by Ariel Ng | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng"When was British sculptor Dane Elizabeth
Frink's work New Man judged 'indecent' by
The Obscene Article Tribunal?" The record shows
June 1995. We would like to interview you about
your opinion of this event. Did you know about
this before?
No.
Because you were too young to know.
I was born in 1993.
What did you think when you heard about this?
I didn't know that The Obscene Article Tribunal
had been es tablished for that long and had taken
action. I found the tribunal because it determined
and classified published works. I didn't know what
concept it used to judge artworks.
Did you see New Man?

26 June 2014

Mickey Lee

So you've heard about this, but are not too familiar
with the details?
Yes, many people knew things from the immediate
news. The news then vanishes.
Similar cases happen occasionally. Assume you
are the creator, or have friends who create, do you
think the set up of the tribunal would hinder yourcreative process?
I don't think it would have an impact on me.
You don't need to care too much about the
government part.
Is it because in most cases the tribunal failed?
What is the normal penalty? Refrain from having
the work shown in public? Fine?
Fine.

No, I Googled it.

Criminal trial? That is serious, you could get acriminal record. Civil trial?

Let me describe it briefly. It is a bronze sculpture
without prominent features, naked, standing. It
depicts a male therefore it has male genitals.

They have fixed penalties. I'm not certain about thecriminal record. It is so common that the Apple
Daily often gets charged.

It was installed in the lobby of a commercial
building, a semi-public space, with a moderate flowof population. What do you think about placing
a work with genitals in a public space? Is thisappropriate?

We need to check if it is under a criminal trial.
Sometimes the tribunal carries out an investigation
because there is a complaint. The tribunal carriesout random checks on Catagory III movies.
However, for art sculptures displayed in a public
space, the tribunal might have received complaints
before carrying out an investigation.

I do not think it is a problem. I guess it doesn't
cause a problem in other countries. Many
masterpieces show genitals and they are all widely
perceived as excellent artworks. You can't simply
equate genitals with...
Obscenity.
Yes.
Yes, these are two different concepts.
Can you recall any misjudgement or unfair
classifications the tribunal has made?
Yes I've heard some but forgot immediately,
sometimes we get to know about the decisions fromthe news, but...

So could I put a "Parental Guidance" sign alongwith the artwork to avoid an investigation?
Theoretically if it's with a clear warning...
During the same period of time as the abovementioned case, there was another case. The
Tribunal ruled that a picture of Michelangelo's
nude sculpture David appearing in a magazine wasindecent. It was a sensitive issue at the time.
Actually I wonder if the tribunal has a defined
standard.
When we flipped through the newspaper clippings,
we read that the staff from the tribunal suffered51

great stress, as they were not certain about theclassifications. Yet the staff were responsible toreview and classify it. They based it on theirexperience, and then brought the evidence to court.
For the 1994 advertisement, the report of thejudgment handed down by the judge said: anyone
with logical thinking can understand that the David
sculpture is an artwork and not anything obscene.
How about you two? How do you think of "sex" asa subject of creation?
To me, it's one of the many subjects, say "violence"
also, that are meant to oppose or reveal some otherthings; to artists, it's one of those subjects.

52

The Artist's Role in Social
Movements and the '90s Art Scene
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

9 August,2014

Momo Leung Mee Ping

This question appeared in the Art Quiz: "Which of
the following Hong Kong visual artists was listedon the 'watch list' of the 'Special Branch' of the
British Colonial Government of Hong Kong?" Theanswer was Mok Chiu Yu. We have discussed before
how Mok Chiu Yu was very active in many social
movements during those years. How do you see thecurrent situation, with so many artists participatingin political and social movements?

Government has a "blacklist" targeting culturaland art practitioners. Do you have any informationon this?

Mok Chiu Yu, in my mind, is always a weathered
man with silvery hair, involved in many labour
union movements, most likely associated with
politics. Although Wong Shun Kit founded theArtist Commune with other artists, while the nameof the organisation "commune" has its political
implications, they didn't get involved in manylabour union movements.

After the handover, people finally could sense how
skilful the communist party could be as they playedaround with art and culture, using them as a tool
for propaganda. They play tricks on an ideologicallevel, do you agree with this?

Concerning Wong Shun Kit and the predecessor of
Artist Commune, known as the Hong Kong Young
Artist Association; apparently Wong Shun Kit wasinvolved in the founding of the association. Have
you heard this before?
I have heard this before, they seemed to dosomething really radical, but I personally have astronger impression of Mok Chiu Yu. Before andafter I left Hong Kong, I kept hearing how he had
been directly involved in so many social movements.
Some might think, as an artist, that you should
engage in social movements and at the same time,
express your political views in a perceptual way.
Others might think that artists should be politicallyneutral. What is your opinion?
I don't think the artist's role has a definite relation
with politics. I would not appreciate an artist
because of his political achievements. Many artists
are involved in politics but not all of them are. I
would rather respect a normal citizen who fights forcivil rights and has the courage to express himself.
It is hard for an individual to separate his personal
background with his political standpoint andcultural upbringing. It is hard for the generationthat grew up in British Colonial Hong Kong to get
rid of that British influence.
Another question asked was whether the SAR

I suppose, yes. We have a similar kind of blacklist
for our school. Everyone has his own blacklist in
his mind. When you closely follow certain politicalevents, naturally you will grasp someone's attention
and get on their watch list.

I rather would say that they need not play tricks
in secret; they have already seized control of thepeople. They will copy your campaign to promote
their own interests. When you organise Occupy
Central with Love and Peace, they will organise ananti-campaign.
There was another question from the Art Quiz,which mentioned that in 1990 artists fromSingapore, including Lee Wen and Wong ShihYaw, came to Hong Kong and participated in an
exhibition organised by Quart Society. Do you
remember that?
I have no clue, I could only think of Lee Wen,
as I read about him when I was in Singapore
for my exhibition, and his work Yellow Man
was remarkable. I was curious if the sense ofidentification as Chinese that was expressed in his
work could represent the general Singaporeans?
After all, there are Singaporeans who identify
themselves as Nanyang rather than Chinese. I think
the Fringe Club invited him at that time. I haven't
heard of the Quart Society.
You would have just returned to Hong Kong in the'90s; did you pay attention to the art institutions atthat time?
I joined the Hong Kong Economic Times right after
my return, as an editor and reporter. It was the time
the newspaper was expanding the "Culture" section,
as a consequence, I spent quite some time getting
familiar with the local art scene, visiting most of the53

shows despite their size. In the '90s there were only
a few venues and art spaces. While the Fringe Club
could be counted as one of the most importantvenues, many of the artists who completed theirstudies abroad threw shows there. I was always
there for interviews, and mainly through the Fringe
Club, I got to know of artists who later became
rather famous. All in all, you need a fixed venue togive people an impression.
So it could be said, that not until 1996-97, in 199296, before the establishment of the ADC, there were
just a few institutions like the Fringe Club?
The Hong Kong Arts Centre was already there but
the Fringe Club had its geographical advantages
and artists would do interviews in the Fringe Club
even if they were not having shows at the Fringe at
the time. Lisa Cheung was still working with theFringe Club and we were quite close, always asking
her for help. The Fringe Club offered more suitablevenues for medium to small-scale exhibitions.
How about City Hall?
City Hall charged higher and I didn't know I
could apply for ADC funding. City Hall is a multifunction hall that hosted many book clubs andstudent events. The Hong Kong Cultural Centre
has the same problem; their roles are vague andundefined.
When you were still a reporter did you visit an
exhibition that really stuck in your mind?
I had just got back to Hong Kong and was not too
familiar with everyone. I had not graduated fromthe Chinese University of Hong Kong. I graduatedfrom France, unlike most who were returning fromthe United States or Canada, so I was the rare case.
But when I was working as an editor people would
submit their articles to the newspaper. Lots of themwere complaining about each other and some ofthem involved personal attacks. This not only gaveme an insight into how the artists were related toeach other as well as their backgrounds, but also
what was happening in the local art scene. This
experience trained me to become a newspaper editor,
a role that maintains the balance of different voices.
Aggressive attacks should never go to the printer.
Are you talking about the argument between the
New Ink Movement and modern printmaking?
No, it was during the era of installation art and theway of presentation.
Did you know the Hong Kong art circle well before
studying abroad?
I knew Tong King Sum, Kan Tai Keung... but not
the later generation. It was the pre-Internet days;
54

you had no way of meeting those people except
in joining societies. Around 97, my generation
had more chances to have exhibitions abroad as
more people were keen on knowing what ourthoughts were towards the Handover. The topic
hit the spotlight and people would like to know
more about Hong Kong artists. It was relatively
easy in those days to apply for funding for foreign
exhibitions. Stage and performance artists like
Danny Yung had risen to fame during this periodof time.

From October Contemporary to
Hong Kong People's Fringe Festival
and the Hong Kong Art Market
Text by Ariel Ng | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

11 July 2014

Dora Tang

Let me first bring up the questions we are goingto discuss. The first one is, "Practitioners fromthe visual art field in Hong Kong organised aseries of large-scale art activities called OctoberContemporary. When did October Contemporary
start and how long did it last for?" The answer
was 2007 and it lasted for three years. All theart organisations with the Hong Kong Arts
Development Council (ADC) one-year grantcollaborated, funded, and organised the festival.
Did you participate in or interview anyone during
these events?

I think... the organisations need to evaluate it...
I have never participated in the event. It would begreat if organisations could share the same value
and integrate their sources. On the other hand, if
there is a difference in value or unpleasant feelings
during the collaboration, then it is not necessary tocontinue with the collaboration. So it is worthwhile
when the organisations share common values andaims; it is worthless when you do something for thesake of doing it. I am more on the objective side...

I didn't join it. I heard about it, and have a roughidea of the participating organisations.

We can see you are quite familiar with the situation.
So we would love to draw the comparison with theHong Kong People's Fringe Festival. We still wantto ask for your opinion although it is mainly
a theatrical production.

Do you know why it only lasted for three years?
Does it relate to a funding issue?
When it was initiated in 2007, I briefly represented
the Artist Commune in assisting with the event
preparation. The event was jointly-financed andjointly-organised by the organisations with the
ADC one-year grant, and they didn't apply for
extra funding. Each organisation contributedroughly HK$ 10,000. That was the situation for the
first year. Why did it stop? Actually, we received a
grant from the ADC in our second and third years,
but the preparation was too torturous. At the sametime, it took effort for organisations to adjust to thecollaboration, since source allocation was a problem
and it ended up stopping.
When we prepared for the quiz, we found that there
is so little information available online.
Yes, we stopped paying for the domain name...
Yes, when I researched for the quiz, the related
coverage was all about the frustration people hadin the funding and support, and thought it was not
worth continuing. This is my impression only, fromlimited information.
Do you think it is worth it to organise sucha cross-organisation event?

You make a valid point.

I did not participate in it but I watched the clips
my colleagues filmed. The edited footage showed awonderful and vibrant event, I regret that I did not
make any direct dialogue with the participants. It
would be great if it could be more diverse, just like
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which originatedfrom the official Edinburgh International Festival.
Now it is more fun and shows happenings in
multiple locations. These approaches are funny, as
they can reach people who have less contact withthese events. But my concern is that you need tobuild it up gradually, with patience. Doing a one-off
or only once in a while can only serve as a firecracker,
drawing attention yet which is not persisting at all.
I am not familiar with the relationship between theorganisers and the participating art organisations. It isnever a bad thing to keep a long-term collaboration,
to expand audience groups and potential venues forhappenings.
From this I remember the first question: "Hong Kong
People's Fringe Festival' is a self-organised groupevent." This is interesting. If there is a sustainablesupport for resources, this mode of operation is more
preferable and can work for a longer period of time
when compared with October Contemporary, as it
works in a scale across organisations, there is a higher
potential to have diverse opinions and arguments.
55

There should be many similar events in thecommunity. October Contemporary scheduled
events in October. Would it be too much from theaudience's point of view? Would it create market
saturation?
Actually this is a pathetic situation. It's the same as
our programme, because I don't see any noticeable
increase in the size of audience. It is much better
these few years, the design people started steppingin, especially the younger generation. But still,there is a limit on digesting the content, andpeople have strong preferences. For example, ourprogramme may be popular among certain groupsof audiences, but when only limited to thosegroups of audience members, it will not attract
more newcomers.
It is difficult to expand your target audience.
Yes, we cannot change our target audience's
consumption patterns. For example, the Hong
Kong People's Fringe Festival is more friendly as it
is very down-to-earth and it is all around the city.
How about the crowd who will attend the Hong
Kong Arts Festival? I think the People's Fringe does
grasp a new group of target audience members,
with different consumption habits and age ranges.
They might be younger people who cannot afford,or people who normally pay a few hundred dollars
for shows.
Even if we were to throw the show in Causeway
Bay, we may get many different people in Causeway
Bay, but how many of them will have an interestin our show? That's why we require the event tobe appealing, or eye-catching. The audience favour
determines the show – and the television channels
are facing the same problem. Functioning as a publicplatform, this kind of programme is relatively niche,
but it has a niche audience group too, the ratings
will be low, and even drop because of viewing habits.
We have regular fans in our audience group, butthey are quite different from our previous audience.
This is also preference driven, and determines how
we could retain our regular audience while reachinga new audience group.
Anyway, The People's Fringe achieved what
the official event failed to achieve. I think this isa good try.
I guess everyone is trying.
I do think it works, but I haven't talked with thecurators. One difficulty is there might be a shortageof potential venues. I hope it could last a while.
They are still hosting this year and I can see theirpromotion. We have registered. They are an open
platform; you can register if you can provide a venue.
This is a way to explore more potential venues.
56

You both registered?
I would like to try to because I do appreciate theireffort. They hosted their first edition without any
funding, and successfully formed an alliance andran the event. Their alliance is now spreading and
we would love to know more.
If the government could open their sites for events,
just like the Edinburgh Fringe, it would be greatfun. There are archive rooms in Edinburgh,a cylindrical building with an empty central
structure. Performances were done under the
backdrop of neat and tidy government archives.
Awesome.
The dialogues are interesting.
Let us now start with the second question. "Howmuch was the most expensive work of a Hong Kong
contemporary artist sold for in 2013?" and theanswer is HK$ 1,840,000. The hammer price wasfor Tsang Tsou Choi's calligraphy: ink calligraphy
on a motorcycle.
This is the most recent record, from our vast
collection of data. If we extended our research toearlier works, a higher record price, or even privatedeal, we might have a different result. Yet Tsang's
work marked the most recent public record. A
record marked by a deceased man, while his artist
status is still vastly controversial. So how do you feel
about the "record-breaking one million hammer
price for a Hong Kong contemporary artist"? When
will the price shoot higher? Will there be chance fora living artist's work to be sold at such a price?
I am not a professional and I don't care about sales
figures. Of course the figure is important to theartist. I feel like that is a similar thing to the realestate or the stock market: speculation. It would be
more difficult for a living artist to have their works
sold at this price; the price is the direct reflectionof Hong Kong's market value. This is the same
theory as the real estate market; you need people's
participation. Some of the living artists are having
good sales and I have heard that people are starting
to invest in artworks in Hong Kong. It is considered
to be a good result if you could make the deal ofhalf a million. Yet, this is only a partial reflection of
how the international market conceives the Hong
Kong art market, sometimes its an associationof figures to artworks. Now we have the West
Kowloon Cultural District as our bargaining chip
to boost the market... Maybe artists in the future
will take it to the street, like Ai Weiwei, it will goto another direction. However, is this a thing I am
looking forward to? I'm not certain...
Like Ai Weiwei, what is the impact if we take it to
the street?

It would set a price to the work and the art market...
This is one of the conditions to influence the priceof an artwork and the art market. I am not implyingthat artists should consciously consider this.
Do Hong Kong contemporary artists' works havethe potential of high investment value?
I guess the return rate would not be that huge,
people prefer buying bricks. When compared withthe real estate or the stock market, art investment ishard to pick up and the market is less transparent.
Take a collection as an investment... I would not do
so. I will consider that when I have money!

57

Young Artists Applying
for Funding
Text by Ariel Ng | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

We are interviewing the participants of the Art
Quiz with two-to-three questions that we have
handpicked from the list for further discussion.
One of the questions is: "If you would like to
execute an art project in Hong Kong, except for
applying for funding from the Hong Kong Arts
Development Council, is there any way you canapply for funding?" This question was rated by theaudience. PageNEXT answered that The Robert
HN Ho Family Foundation is an option, which
was followed by an immediate response from theaudience that actually The Robert HN Ho Family
Foundation is hard to apply to.
We would like to ask if you have any experience inapplying for funding for artistic projects.
I previously applied for the residency program in
New York. I guess the name is the ACC?
That's the Asian Cultural Council.
Yes, I tried this, but failed in the end.
Besides this, what else did you try?
I applied to a residency programme in Beijing,but it only covered my accommodation. I applied
through resartis.org.
How long was the stay for?
One month.
Did you apply for a travel grant from any funding
body in Hong Kong?
No. I tried applying to the ADC or AAC...
I can't remember the names clearly, they all soundso similar and I get mixed up with the different
institutions. I had planned to apply for a travel
grant to the United Kingdom, but I was too busy
for my show and gave up in the midst of that.
You seem to not care about funding. Is this because
you don't need the funding at the moment? Or is
it related to the complicated nature of application
procedures?
The application procedure is really annoying. Take
58

10 July 2014

Mak Ying Tung

my experience of an application for a travel grant as
an example. If I want to apply for reimbursement formy air ticket, I cannot stay behind and need to havea very fixed schedule. I need to prove and provide
evidence and do another submission, which is reallyinconvenient. I am not used to writing proposals andI feel defeated when my application is turned down.
Is this a common thing in your peer group whenwriting proposals to apply for funding?
For some of them: yes. One successful case issomeone who got a scholarship for his MIT Master's
programme.
Had you been taught how to write a proposal during
your college studies?
No. I remember once I followed my professor's
instruction on filling in an application form for an
Australian grant for Asian artists. Hong Kong is
included on the list and that was my trial. It was
mainly completed by my professor, but eventually
failed as well.
Umm... It seems like you have never succeeded so far...
(Laughs) Yes! I should review and check...
If there were more funding bodies or lesscomplicated application procedures, and there wereno restrictions on the application interval, would
you be more interested in applying for funding?
What should be the main purpose for the fund? For
example: exhibition, publication, exchange?
Yes. Probably for exchange.
So from your experience, what do you think of
the opportunity for Hong Kong artists to do cultural
exchange?
There is not much. The funding I applied for lasttime is one of the few that is eligible to apply to but
it is not attractive; it subsidies half of the expense,
while at the same time you can only stay for a
relatively short duration.
The conditions are quite harsh and it only subsidises
the air ticket.

Half of the expense.
Actually one third of your total expense, now its
become better and has been raised to two thirds.
I got only one third at that time...
When you fill in the form you could play atrick. If you've got a big number for your total
expenses while the expense of the air ticket coveredis one third of the total, you would get better
compensation. Anyway, the subsidy is now raised
to two thirds, you could make the expense morestraight forward.
I am weak in making proposals. Next time I will try
this method.
Then let's shift to another question. "Where wasthe 1994 Open Studios held?" Actually it was not
only in Fotan, Kwun Tong and Chai Wan, it was
all over Hong Kong. According to the information,some of the artists had published the informationof their studios in the newspaper while Yank Wong,
Leung Chi Wo, Yeung Tong Lung and Tse Ming
Chong...their studios were opened to the public.
You currently have your studio in Fotan, have you
joined the Fotan open studio programme?
How has it been for you? Have you encounteredany difficulties?
Yes, I participated one year. I was happy. I had justgraduated the previous year and so happened tojoin in this event. It was important to me as I met
some Fotan artists through the event.
Do you still have your studio in Fotan?
With whom?
Yes, on my own.
Gorgeous!
My boyfriend is there too but he is not an
art practitioner.
Are you involved in any administrative roles or an
organising role of the open studio programme?
No.
So you just registered and offered your studio forthe open visit? What did you show?
A lot, and I got a projector for the event.
It seems you really value this event. There is anotherone in half a year, are you going to join it again?
Maybe, yes if I am in Hong Kong at the time.
Fotan has celebrated its 10th anniversary. Comparedwith the open studio programme in 1994, the artist
studios at that time used to be the homes of theartists, and they were willing to open these to the
public. What is your opinion of that?
Artists were more passionate at that time and theevent was more organic. They worked their own
way out.
The artists who did participate in the open studioprogramme remained active in the field, forexample Leung Chi Wo, etc., are still doing theirwork. Yes, those artists are really passionate.
Something slightly off topic: You were born in
1989, when did you start knowing about thecontemporary art scene, local artists and their work?
I was a latecomer. I knew nothing when I graduatedfrom my high school...
Were you introduced by university tutors?
Information from school?
It was briefly mentioned in my electives, but it
was quite a blur, the Hong Kong art scene. I could
not distinguish who from whom, maybe I had nochance to meet them in person. Fotan in contrast
provided a much better chance. Information frombooks was too discrete, too amateur...
Did you have a subject specifically about
contemporary art?
Maybe the art history course by Leung Po Shan,but I didn't take the course. I took the tutorial
hosted by Phoebe Man, she did mention a little bit.
What is your advice for students who are currently
studying fine art or art-related subjects, and havedecided to enter the art field, if they want to know
more about the arts scene? Or does it actuallydepend on active searching?
Drawing from my experience, first, search forthe artist studios. This will help you to enter
the community. I got to know about important
information from the artists I met, like theexperience of exhibitions. You can't get this fromofficial channels, so it is important to make friends
with active members in the community.
Many people graduate every year from your faculty,
what portion become active practitioners? Half of
the around 100 graduates?
Probably three. Actually the School of Creative
Media at City University offers both a Bachelor ofArts and Bachelor of Science degree. I graduatedfrom the BA, while BA offers three main subjects,
and most of the students choose animation and film
studies, while only a dozen of us chose interactive
59

art. So this is a relatively small proportion.
I understand. So now you have your own studioand have kept on developing your career. Will you
encourage your fellow students to do the same?
I guess. They have their own goals. Maybe...

60

Two Performance Artworks
and the Younger Generation's
View of Authority
Text by Winnie Fung | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

During the opening of the 1987 Contemporary
Hong Kong Art Biennial, Chan Ching Wah sprayed
her entry work black.
I know. She is the member of Hong Kong Alliancein Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in
China (HKA).
What do you think about this? The vandalising ofher own work...
I would be more interested in where she went
afterwards.
Actually we are interested in this and had been
looking for her. As far as I know she used to "learn
painting" in the drawing room on the rooftop of
the Fringe Club, but actually that was an excuse
for doing art in a group, and sharing the drawing
room, while at the same time asking for advice fromthe tutor, but not properly learning painting.
She might have done many works there.
I did try to find out on the Internet, but it
generated no results. How come you would know
she is the member of HKA? You have known thisfor a long time?
I actually did not know she is an artist...
Previously we all tracked her with her artist career
but what could be found out finally is that she
was one of the Hong Kong students who went toBeijing during the student movement of 1989 andwitnessed June the Fourth. There is even photo
documentation. I got the information about her
HKA participation but no information of her
artistic creation and career.
According to my previous research, recently she
participated in several theatrical productions andhas made some joint-creations. This is the relatively
up-to-date news, nothing more.
I read several interviews which mentioned her work
as a social worker, but I don't know if she is stillworking in the field.

27 July 2014

Wong KY

Her name is shown on the flyer of a documentaryLong Hair: the Little Soldier.
Is that the same Chan Ching Wah we mentioned
just now?
Yes.
Actually the focus of the question is not about who
Chan Ching Wah is. We just want to reassess why
was there someone destroying her own work in acertain situation, and to extend the creation in analternative way.
I guess she was angry if I am looking at it froman artist viewpoint. She might have been very
dissatisfied and felt powerless; probably she could
not change the surroundings, then she could only
destroy her own work. If there is no impact on
the larger environment, the destruction of theself might then lead to a re-establishment of theself. I think destruction is only one part of theprocess...It might have been the aim. However, themess after the destruction, or the consequences, ismore fascinating. I always break stuff I have made,because of my anger or simply because I want torelease my emotions. Sometimes I cannot bear mywork; sometimes the finished work might not be
the finale but the destruction is. When I am donewith a perfect work, which is then followed withthe smashing of it, it is actually really anti-social
and anti-climactic. And I feel fantastic for this.
She was doing that exact thing during the openingof the biennial, although I suppose she should haveplanned it and had an intention. If you interpret itin this way, there should be her dismay that needed
to be expressed. The painting was named A Maiden
Dressed in Red, you didn't know this before the Art
Quiz, right?
Yes, I didn't know.
Then what is your thought after reading thequestion and getting to know of Chan Ching Wah
as an artist and what she did in the late 80s? For
example, "This is quite a breakthrough"... or what?
61

I would have the impression, "woah, she has guts".
I have never seen this these past few years: duringcollege and after graduation. I am still young to theindustry and haven't witnessed any big resistance.
Nowadays we have the West Kowloon Cultural
District, the Biennale, M+, and dating back we had
the "black-box operation" scandal of the HKADC,
or the kicking out of the Wooferten. We reacted
by signing petitions and holding meetings. These
years have not been peaceful years; just the people
adapt less radical methods and they have far moreconcerns. I'm not saying they are timid, we talkabout peace and being rational. The make-up of theinstitution has changed. I personally believe thatsomething a bit violent like Chan Ching Wah's act
makes some impact to history. I don't know if Luke
Ching would do so nowadays, he is a father and hehas his family. He has his burdens, yet Chan Ching
Wah... As a young artist at that time, one would
rather prefer being a white sheep for the awards
presentation ceremony. How come there would besomeone who would consider destroying their own
work? I guess no one in my peer group would dare
to do so if they got into the biennale. The system is
too... they might think they have no power to fightback, and would compromise.
So you are actually saying that there is no resistance,
not because the system has improved, it is that theconfrontation to the existing system that provides
no space for exploration – you have no choice but
to compromise.
I haven't experienced that age so I can't draw acomparison between the two. I am still too young
to make a conclusion. People in our generation,
post-90s, were brought up with the educationthat hopelessly pushed you to fit into the system
or into being a tame child who wished to simply
find some space between the gaps. We won't makerevolutions. The most extreme thing we will do isgo busking or organise protests. I think this is thecommon problem of our generation. We are too
well protected and pampered. We would hesitate if
we needed to walk out of our comfort zone.
People from the last generation, for example, there
were so many students who stayed in Tiananmen
Square during June the Fourth, they would think
about their future, but they would consider muchfurther than that. Yet there is still hope. There
were young people staying behind for the small
occupation that just happened on July the First andthey were not afraid of being charged by the law.
This was a great pressure for them. Mainstream
beliefs project the values of making money, getting
a well-paid job, or chasing fame, people find it hard
to resist against the mainstream. In addition, they
may actually confront the authorities deep in theirhearts, but they believe in authority and they can atleast feel secure under the protection of authority,
however they fail to realise that they actually are62

contributing to the authority. The authority is
powerful only because of the people's contribution.
Just like a boat that can float on the sea, it is thepower of the sea which causes the boat to float.
People look down on themselves, they think theyshould behave and not make a tide. I know manyof them share the same thinking. Chan Ching Wah
is very bold; her act challenged authority. You canjust picture how many influential people in theart world and principal officials were there at the
opening. Our students won't even have the nerve tochallenge our own professors...
The second question is "Pan Xinglei executed his
work Red Action in Victoria Park by first splashinghimself and a statue of Queen Victoria with red
paint and then punching the statue in the nose.
When did this action take place?" and the answer is
16 September 1996, it was the date of the openingof the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial.
Although you were still young, I think you probably
heard about this.
I knew about it. I remember I once read a magazine
with the cover about this act during my college
years. However, the news report in 1996 reported
only the act of splashing, or simply interpreted that
Pan was crazy. At that time, the media could not
fully grasp the concept of performance art.
I categorise both of their acts as performance art,
do you think these two works affected people's
understanding of performance art or even influenced
your decision when doing performance art?
Definitely yes for the influence, but this impacted
more the researchers of local history or art policy
than the people who do performance art. I see no
relation to performance art practitioners because
there hasn't been any event with such an impactthat has happened these past few years. I can only
remember someone writing a giant "Keep it up"
in Chinese graffiti on the intersection of Kowloon
Tong and it hit the front pages. This is the only
case I can remember, the rest were done by foreign
artists... There might be an impact, definitely an
impact, but I think more to local art historians
or academic research and not to performance art
practitioners.
When we teach art history, we only briefly mention
Pan's incident. Colleges or academic institutions areconscious about this because it involves more thanart, its political standpoint relates to colonialism
and mainland China. Colleges may avoid
mentioning this, as it might be too lengthy to fit
into the curriculum, you need to spend time stating
the background and even more time for discussion,
while we are unclear about our position in thisincident. You can discuss with the insiders as they
may know the whole story, but when you talk about
the influence on the public... I do not think themass media at that time or the cultural critique has
provided sufficient arguments that could divert theaudiences, or laymen's attention to the realisationof the expression of performance art. Mostly they
provided an unfair portrayal and people at thattime believed this was an act by a crazy protester,or a social activist. They seldom associated it withperformance art.

I am going to pick a day full of events; and do an
opening on Friday. It's just that simple.

Chan Ching Wah was doing performance art,
but this was less known because the opening was
an insider event. Many years later, people got toknow of this because of our Art Quiz – even thepractitioners. Some principal officials might still
remember but they would not remind people.
They do not want to tackle the consequences ofmentioning the work. It only affected the people
who experienced the work in that era. I doubt how
many of them would have spread it widely throughword-of-mouth. You know how rare it is when you
search for an article on Chan Ching Wah's act.
We have heard about Pan's incident or performancewith various interpretations and conclusions.
Except the point you have just said; Pan as anmainland artist and this work should be related tothe colonial government, there is another point thatis worth noticing. Pan executed his work on the dayof the biennial's opening, and his work hit all thenewspapers the day after but there was no coverageon the biennial. Some critics said one reason hepicked that day was because he was upset about not
being included in the biennial. Of course Queen
Victoria's statue as a symbol of the colony could
be perceived as his calculation, and there must be aclear linkage between the colonial symbol and thecolonial art system - the biennial.
Yes, there are many interpretations and deductions,but the most depends on how the artist thinks
about it himself. There may all be overlyinterpreting it. If I were him, I would pick the dayof the biennial opening. Over-interpretation is theaudience's business. If Pan executed his work on anormal day, there may be more layers to interpretthat performance, instead of just being a responseto the biennial. If I were the performance artist, I
would pick a big day because I would love to havemore of an audience and seek more attention.
You need to take everything into consideration.
Yes. You need to take everything into
consideration if you want to do a successful workof performance art. Of course there might be aconcern of going too far, and some might think acalculated intent is not a sincere act in art. However,it might only be the simple motivation boosting
the view rate, or simply wanting to get more
exposure, that's why I go for executing my work on
the day everyone is there, the day that insiders pay
attention to. If I am really going to throw an event,63

From Self-Censorship toTruly Loving Hong Kong
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

I have no particular comments about the quiz; thewhole Art Quiz was good. The questions were wellset, with a broad sampling of art history. And thequestions could be sorted from history, to origins
and the involvement of people. Hong Kong art
development is closely related to space, so there
could be a spatial study extracted from the general
history, and people are involved in that space. For
instance, the possible number of people could be fit
into the exhibition space, people's presence altered
the space, and the existence of spaces changed theart scene. These were briefly mentioned during
the Art Quiz, but it could be more systemised topresent the habitat of the Hong Kong art scene in
the past. This quiz reflects the reality, which is quite
different from the West Kowloon one. The one inWest Kowloon is more on the -ism movement andmore on the international level. What happened
actually in the art world is ignored or there is a lackof recognition, so this quiz is quite good. It presents
a reality.
Yes. So we are going to discuss with you twoquestions extracted from the Art Quiz.
Okay.
Then the first question is: "Ma Jiabo, an artist who
worked mostly in oil painting, held an exhibition
at City Hall in October 1967. The exhibition
was eventually cancelled by the British Colonial
Government of Hong Kong amid rumors that apainting titled Reading the News caused the anxietyof the government. What did the painting depict?"
The painting had a slogan stating the hardshipof living in Hong Kong and Macau, and thegovernment raised a concern towards the language
and cancelled the exhibition.

Kacey Wong

Clearly no.
You have curated shows for Artizens, Ai Weiwei,
about June the Fourth. Have you experienced any
intervention of your shows?
Not for now. It's mostly self-censorship. Of course,
I have not encountered any moment of selfcensorship for my curated exhibitions. I would rather
like to show the blind spot during my curatorial
process. I haven't been involved in any censorshipissues before, but I can sense the pressure thepractitioners in public institutions are facing, that's
why they would have self-censorship, or keep theirmouths shut. There is no longer direct interference
from the government, but it's been substituted bya sense of "patriotism", as if getting brainwashed tolove the country, the party, and Hong Kong in a senseof Hong Kong being the son of China. "When you
embrace the Chines e Communist Party, you can earna lot more" gradually came into our subconscious,
and we would stay away from certain topics.
For instance, there is a show in the Hong Kong
Heritage Museum, "Long time no see, Victoria", itextends its argument to the debate on the Handoverand I know the curatorial team received internalpressure as it is related to the whole situation. Is it
necessary to praise the Central Government? They
had many struggles during the show's preparation.
How many real Hong Kong stories and histories
are going to be buried? The worst-case scenario isthat they would be labeled as evil remnants of the
British in Hong Kong. Sad but true.

Actually, I wasn't born before the Leftist Riots, but
history is important.

I could feel it, that's why some of the shows havebeen "muted". Recently in the District Council
meeting, the pan-democratic district councilor who
proposed the rehabilitation of June the Fourth, he
was carried away by the police. You see, we don't
even have the right to mention it... Although theway to address political views through art is more
abstract, they share a similar fate. At the end, thegovernment is in charge of the exhibition, they
determine the ideology of the exhibition and tend
to carry out censorship.

So do you have any comments on this? This is agovernmental censorship on artistic creations; haveyou had any similar experiences?

We have another question that relates to the same
topic. The Artist Commune held an exhibition"Hong Kong Sculpture" and a Macau artist Ng

They were afraid of a bombing?
It was that time... You are probably too young tohave any memories?

64

18 July 2014

Fong Chao responded with a sculpture Glorious Pig,
which had been shown in Hong Kong but bannedin the Guangzhou touring show. The reason is the
sculpture was painted with green camouflage.
The show was jointly presented by the Guangzhou
Sculpture Academy. The director at that time
thought the green camouflage recalled the People's
Liberation Army. It would be problematic toassociate the pig with the army. This is an example
of censorship.
This thing will eventually happen in Hong Kong.
Art and politics are not a binary classification.
Art is a way to promote politics, like propaganda,
representing the ideology: national flag, national
anthem, these are all art. Art is not as absolute as
mathematics. You could adopt camouflage in many
ways and some might have the ability to distinguishthe represented countries of each camouflage, somemight relate the camouflage to pigs if they have nobackground information. The abstraction of art
cruises around us and provides us with imagination.
So censorship must happen in Hong Kong. When
the WKCDA attended the Legislative Council
monitor panel meeting, they were questioned about
the acquisition of Ai Weiwei's artwork. This reflects
how sensitive the anti-PRC issue is, and it's easy
to make attribution to the artworks. Therefore the
WKCDA are working under a constraint, they needto tackle the government's politicisation of art.

literati, you have this responsibility. You need tostay critical and not get distracted by the people inpower. Heroes and the literati of their era uphold
their morals and I can do so with art. Is there a
way out for the independent artist? Yes, we have abroader sky, and we are more carefree.
I decided to not show my work in a conventional
gallery. I show it on the streets with morethan 100,000 passersby. The image of me in a
disciplinary force outfit won more than 10,000
Facebook likes, and this marks a record. Those who
liked it actually represent the hatred of the police.
There are chances everywhere; it just depends onwhether you have the courage to reveal the truth
you believe in.
You need to have the courage to reveal the uglinessof reality. Some might think you're better to keep a
distance and go conservative. They believe that as aprofessor, you have fame, and it is not necessary todowngrade yourself as a street performer. I stay on
the street because I have been well educated. You
cannot pretend to have a good life while there issomething actually happening outside. I believe
I should make use of what I have been taught tomake a change, and this is how I show my love to
Hong Kong.

We mentioned this during our meeting with friends
yesterday too. Is this a good thing when we now
have the WKCDA, M+ – the institutions that havea strong focus on academics and art? They halve the
pro-government societies funding...
From the Western contemporary art viewpoint...
How many cases? Recently Zhang Xiaoming's
calligraphy was sold at a price of HK$ 20 million.
See! They love the Liaison Office of the CRP. Politics
goes hand-in-hand with capitalism, and affects art.
Art is turned into an excuse to show loyalty.
Can the WKCDA stop the problem? We could only
temporarily halve their resources and prohibit their
growth, but if there are more political exhibitionsin the future, could the WKCDA uphold
their professional standards, not turning into a
government tool? Will the cultural district turn out
to be the venue for the reunification ceremony?
Can we stop it?
As an independent artist, in order to stay unbiased,
it is hard to collaborate with the government's
venue to throw shows.
We emphasise the truth, the good, and the beautiful
in art. You can only touch your audience when you
are faithful to your work. At the very least you needto get in touch with yourself. As a member of the65Communication Between
Art Students in Hong Kong's
Tertiary Education
Text by Ariel Ng | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

We have extracted some questions from the
Art Quiz and would like to have an extended
discussion with you.
Let me repeat one of the questions, "In 2002, theDepartment of Fine Arts of the Chinese Universityof Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Hong Kong Art
School (HKAS) cooperated for the first time tohold a student group exhibition. Two students
from CUHK and three students from HKAS
participated in the exhibition. At least one of thefive is present today. Please state one of them."
The participating artists from CUHK were Chow
Chun Fai and Kwan Sheung Chi while Guy
Cheung Chi Kai, Ivy Fung Ching Ping and Gum
Cheng were from HKAS. It was Tang Ying Chi
from the Art School and Kurt Chan from CUHK
who pushed forward the collaboration. The
exhibition took place in Tung Shing Building in
Wan Chai, which was at the time the location of
the HKAS. Actually, do you know that HKAS is a
private institution?
I had no clue. I barely know its name.
The Department of Fine Arts of CUHK covers
subjects across fine arts creative processes. Around10 years ago, HKAS was established, providing
part-time bachelor degrees or above art courses.
Of course, there are other colleges offering art
programmes, but they all do their own stand-alone
shows. This 2002 joint-college show has been the
only one in recent years. What is your opinion ofcollaborations between colleges?
Apart from joint-college exhibitions, our City
University students can exchange with Baptist
University and vice versa, while it is possible
between Baptist University and CUHK. We have a
student in our group from Baptist University, but
she also takes courses from City University.
Is this common in your peer group?
It's less common for City University students to
exchange with Baptist University, as there are lesscourses offered.
66

18 July 2014

Winnie Yan

How about yourself?
I didn't do it as most of the courses offered by
Baptist University are textile-related, for instance,
trying to use electronic parts for fashion design,
which sounds not too attractive to me.
So what are they normally offering?
Baptist University often have textile and electronic
art while we at City University have sound art andtheory courses.
Are those subjects specially made for exchange
students?
No, students from two colleges can attend the same
course, and the course is not restricted to a specificyear, but students can only take one to two courses.
When does the exchange start?
I don't know that either.
So why didn't you take other courses? You have nointerest in textile design, then how about electronic
art? I assume there is something similar offered by
City University?
There is an electronic art course from our college;
I have no clue why they still offer another course.
Well there are actually minor differences; the course
offered by City University emphasises more on
sound art, while the Baptist University one is more
about installation technique focusing with theteaching of fashion design.
It sounds great to have such an exchange
programme for courses.
What would you think if these art schools hosted ajoint-college show for students?
It would be great.
Then why hasn't this been pushed forward? Has
your college society organised any similar event?

Apparently not... there is a lot to be done even justfor our stand-alone annual show.

engagement, which would bring about quite
a different result.

I think a joint-college show on the student level (nottalking about graduates) is mostly facilitated by theprofessors and tutors; it can only be a success withthe help of the tutors and professors.

So do you have any comments about the Art Quizor any follow up questions?
It was great fun!

That is so true as a joint-college event involves
complicated funding procedures and administrative
work.
Apart from the course exchange programme,
are there any platforms where you can get to knowwhat other colleges students are doing or simply,
to get to know each other?
It seems like there's none...
Then this is not bad that you are joining theworkshop hosted by the AAA. You could get
updates from the event.
Yes.
Do your classmates actively participate in eventsfrom the institutions?
They participate mostly in video-related events.
We have classmates who interact with Baptist
University students, to extend your social network,and friends keep introducing to each other.
When I was still in Art School (which was 12 yearsago), only CUHK had creative related events, butthey happened in a remote area. We rarely madecontact with CUHK and therefore they were not
too familiar with our practitioners, and also how
the market was. The scarcity made us treasurewhatever possible collaboration. And now, you all
can do lots of exchanges when you are still students.
So do you think there is still a need to do jointcollege exhibitions or exchange programmes at thecollege level?
Definitely. Yes, as everyone has his own
understanding of art. Some may have a focus on
the ideas while others focus on the development oftechniques. I met a friend from CUHK during the
AAA event and he doesn't quite like graffiti, at thesame time he adapts different viewpoints towards
the definition of art. That's why I think by doing
joint-college exhibitions could help us to explore
into the understanding of what art can be – people
with different educational backgrounds, carrying
different perspectives would bring together anmulti-voiced exhibition, which a joint-exhibition
with friends would be unlikely to bring out. If
it is under the facilitation of the institutions, agroup of strangers could experience the transition
from not knowing each other to collaboration and67

Repeating Questions andthe Possibility of Publishing an
Art Magazine
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

Can you think of any one question in the Art Quizthat was particularly remarkable to you?
Yes it was remarkable for the area some questions
covered, but no question in particular.
Are you now in Berlin?
No, I am now in Brussels.
How do you manage to write about Hong Kongart there?
I can't. I have another colleague from The Stand
News who is responsible for the writing, and I'mmainly in charge of editing and layout. I am now inan embarrassing situation, whenever I meet people
here and introduce myself I have to explain why
I am jobless now.
We had a question in the quiz, "The exhibition
The Pink Book Remade. An Exhibition Concerning
Arts Policy organised by Lau Shang Yang and Yank
Wong Yan Kwai, took place outside the Legislative
Council in July 1993. What did 'The Pink Book'
represent?" The answer was the 1993 Arts Policy
Review Report. Did you hear about this exhibition
and the artists involved?
I heard about some of the actively involved artistsof that time, but I didn't know about thisexhibition before.
Did you search for the 1993 Arts Policy Review
Report? Is the related information difficult to find?
Yes, very difficult. We mainly did our research
online and found our material in the AAA library.
Do you feel the previous policy problem is still
a problem now?
Yes, except for the art policy, don't you think Oil
Street is repeating itself as well? Oil Street was theresult of a fight for more art spaces and art studios,and today's Oil Street, along with other projects,
still have the same ambition. We repeatedly do the68

30 August 2014

G Yeungsame thing over the years, the only thing is thatnow people forgot that our previous generation had
done the same thing before.
Is it because Hong Kong people have a shortmemory towards everything?
We are lacking a well-planned cultural policy andthe direct consequence is, we cannot archive many
events and experiences that would enable further
compilation. Problems keep repeating themselvesin a vicious circle. In addition, I feel like there isn't
enough recognition for the once active artists a
generation before us, therefore it is difficult to share
their experiences with the younger generation.
Another question is, "Which of the following
periodicals is self-financed? C for Culture, Besides,
Art Currents or Art in Hong Kong?" Have you readany of them before?
Half of them, I haven't read Besides, while I firstsaw the hard copy of Art Currents during my prequiz preparation. I read C for Culture.
Besides was co-funded and co-founded by a groupof people around the 90s. The style was quite
unconventional, and did always have in-depth
explorations of the problems within the existing
system. Sadly it didn't last long.
Our media is trapped in the same situation –it keeps repeating itself, and keeps failing. The
situation has been improving these past few years.
There are more Hong Kong artists involved in
Hong Kong politics, could this lead us on the way
out of the failing cycle? I am optimistic towards thesituation, and believe that active participation will
make a breakthrough.
We just discussed the problem of self-financed
magazine publishing; many of them could not
maintain a break-even and were forced to close
down. The problem is mainly due to the lack ofpotential consumers. How do we solve this problem?
I've also noticed that, except for The Stand News,many of the magazines from the same categories arefacing the same income problem. Fleurs des lettres,
the literature bi-monthly magazine was sustainedon the funding of the ADC. There is maybe a way
out if you go digital, another method is to expand
the market outside of Hong Kong, like Taiwan. I
quite appreciate the cultural publishing industry
in Taiwan. They have achieved their commercial
success. Take Artouch as an example, it has a seriesof magazines: Art and Collections is specially for
antiques; Artco is for contemporary art; the one
specially for art investment is Art Investment; while
the international version is Yishu in English andone targeting kids is ArtcoKids. This nearly covers
readers from all age ranges. This kind of marketing
works better in Taiwan, I guess my cultural
magazine could sustain itself if I was going to haveit published in Taiwan.
We have already seen the similar style of travel
magazines filling the whole newspaper stand.
Certainly you cannot compare the popularity
of art publications with dining and leisurepublications in Hong Kong. Even if you have aninterest in art, as a frequent reader of this kind ofmagazine, you will rather pick English magazines
because contemporary art works on a global scale.
Readers naturally pick the publication that ismore international; they will not pick the local
one. Even if you publish a high quality magazine
with exceptional insight, gallery people will notnotice that and they will not feel it is necessary to
pay attention to it. So I rather prefer drawing the
Bijutsutecho's strength, i.e., in a form of a micromagazine, and work on more in-depth material.
Let's say Tsang Kin Wah is going to participate in
the Venice Biennial, the way Bijutsutecho works
for its special feature would be picking artists andhosting a dialogue section with Tsang, and list out
his representing galleries, following with interviewsof the gallerists, then an interview with CUHK
and his professors... Then, commercially speaking,not only galleries, even CUHK could have theiradvertisements in this magazine.
When will you publish this magazine?
(Laughs) Yes, I had such a plan before, but gave up
because of financial reasons.

69

A Dinner Gathering Afteran Exhibition Opening, C&G andFriends on the "Art Triads"
Text by Siu Wan Chi | Translated from Chinese by Yung Wing Yi

Clara Cheung

Gum Cheng

Let's say there was a group of 10 that formed theHong Kong Young Artist Association, and three ofthem split and formed another society.
Just like those Pro-Establishment Camps hosting"snake soup, vegetarian dish, mooncake and rice
dumpling" parties.
This is the quickest way to promote anorganisation.
...How long did this Hong Kong Young Artist
Association operation last for?
Until the establishment of the Artist Commune.
The Artist Commune was established in 1997, andthe Cattle Depot was from 2001, right?

Interviewee A

Interviewee B

I guess it won't happen now.
This no longer happens, as there was a rumourin 1995 and 1996 that they had tightened themeasures for funding, and employed stricter
examinations.
Who else except Chan Kwong Wah belonged to
Hong Kong Young Artist Association? Did you?
No. They were a big team, including Kam Chi
Keung, Cheung Chi Ping, Dou Wun, Wong Leung
Sek, etc. Wong Leung Sek was the chairman ofHong Kong Young Artist Association.
Was Wong Shun Kit one of their members too?
Yes, Grace Cheng also.

I guess the name stayed the same until the pre-Oil
Street period.

This line up of the association was challenging
the system.

Who called them the "Art Triads"?

I cannot imagine Kam Chi Keung was one of them.

I overheard the name from Kith Tsang.

He was, but he quit during the Oil Street period
because he realised the problem in the early stage.

Was Kith that radical at the time?
It was the time when Kith was still with Para/Site
Art Space, and he was on the academic track,
therefore really disgusted with this kind of
curatorial practice.
The guerrilla style?
I wouldn't quite say so; to be more precise it was anopportunistic approach.
Our government prefers numerical figures, and thisway of operating really does boost the figures.
However as the ADC used to operate in this way,
it gave people an impression of communal sharing;basically anyone who had ever handed in a project
proposal could have been allocated with funding.
However, an application for HK$ 50,000 worth offunding might finally turn out to be HK$ 10,000.
70

16 July 2014

Apparently he mentioned it to me.
Kam Chi Keung joined "Gup Dai Jok" later.
I haven't heard of this group.
Chan Kwong Wah appeared to be their member as
well; he had multiple identities.
Why didn't you mention these groups and societieson the quiz day?
We constantly got interrupted.
There were so many societies back then, but they
have all now disappeared.
The '90s was a booming era.
But why did they all suddenly disappear in 1997?

No, they are still registered societies but nolonger active.
I guess there is a growth cycle for the establishmentof societies. Successful or not, what they fight forwill only happen in those few years of the growth
cycle.
But was there a vote-rigging problem for the
ADC members' election when there were so many
passionate societies?
This relates to the mentor-protégé relationship intraditional ink societies that they stick to. How dare
you disobey your mentor if he asked you to vote forsomeone?
Is it still the situation nowadays?
Many societies nowadays have realised the problem,
and they have averted the blind following of their
mentors.
But this still could not change the system –the number of appointed members is more thanthe elected.
20 years before the ADC was set up, it was designedwith the least democratic election setting.
Is the ADC under the supervision of thegovernment?
Of course.

71This is an artist book developed based on the programme:
Not As Trivial As You Think: Hong Kong Art Quiz
A Project by AAA Artist-in-Residence C&G
17 May 2014
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Presented by Asia Art Archive
Supported by Living Limited and Yana & Stephen Peel
C&G's residency at AAA was funded by Burger Collection, Hong Kong.
Editorial team:
Gum Cheng Man Yee, Clara Cheung, Ingrid Chu,
Winnie Fung, Ariel Ng, Vivian Poon, Siu Wan Chi,
Chloe Ting, Clare Tyrrell-Morin, Michelle WongThis artist book was originally written in Chinese.
Translator:
Yung Wing YiGraphic Design:
Muuute | www.muuute.com
Illustration:
Gum Cheng Yee Man
Special thanks to:
Chow Chun Fai
Orlean Lai"Under The Bed" Think Tank: wen yau
All friends, artists, and practitioners who assisted C&G
with research for the quiz.
C&G and AAA would like to give our heartfelt thanks toall participants and the audience.
Published by Asia Art Archive and C&G Artpartment
Asia Art Archive
11/F Hollywood Centre
233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
T: +852 2844 1112
W: www.aaa.org.hk
C&G Artpartment
3/F, 222 Sai Yeung Choi Street South
Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
T: +852 2390 9332
W: www.candg-artpartment.com
First edition, 500 copies
August 2015
Printed in Hong Kong
ISBN: 978-988-13427-2-0
All rights reserved
Published in Hong Kong

72