24th June - 5th July, 2023
M.F.A. Graduate Exhibition
Gallery I, Art Museum, Central Campus, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
M.F.A. Year One Exhibition
Hui Gallery, New Asia College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Monday to Saturday: 10a.m. to 5p.m. (closed on Thursdays)
Sunday and public holidays: 1p.m. to 5p.m.
The 2023 CUHK Fine Arts Master’s Graduates Exhibition showcases the research results of
the two-year M.F.A programme of the five graduates: CHAN Ting, Dony CHENG Hung,
Weera-it ITTITEERARAK, Jay LAU Ka Chun, and Frank TANG Kai Yiu. They use various
artistic mediums such as painting, installation, printmaking, and image-making to explore
themes like vitality, light-shadow relationships, diasporic identity, imagery, and the
interpretation of monuments. Each of the five M.F.A. graduates have their unique
propositions and employ diverse artistic media in their creative practice. The intensive
two-year Master of Fine Arts programme allows graduate students to further develop their
research topics, exchange ideas, and develop a distinct personal style within their existing
artistic practice.
Through installation, Chan Ting takes people on a journey through the city, believing that it
can restore some of the missing vitality to urbanites. She collects abandoned objects found on
streets and alleys of Hong Kong, as well as sounds and images from the city, and transforms,
rearranges and exhibits them. This journey is like walking into a collector’s giant cabinet of
curiosities, a wizard’s manifestation field, or a movie theater opened by a madman.
Through repeated observation of various objects in the surroundings, Dony Cheng Hung
began to see them as symbolic representations of the city, exploring her connection with the
surroundings. She was particularly drawn to the light sources in the city. By juxtaposing
natural and human-made objects in her works, she aimed to comprehend the connection
between those symbols. The process of creating artwork was not only a means of re-seeing
and perceiving but also manifested the time accumulated in our seeing. Different symbols
produced meanings that resembled a departure from reality but also overlapped with it,
creating concealed triggers between memory and perception, waiting for the city to represent
unique experiences.
“Parallel Visions” is a collaborative series of artworks by Weera-it Ittiteerarak, a Hong
Kong-born Thai artist, and an imaginary artist with the same name who was born and raised
in Thailand with no gender or sex. The series explores the concept of parallel universes and
imagined realities, as well as the themes of displacement and de-identity within the diasporic
context of Sinophone. Through their unique blend of backgrounds and perspectives, the
artists aim to create a hyperimage that challenges the boundaries of reality, inviting viewers
to question their own sense of identity and the constructs of reality. The machine learning
system, ChatGPT, adds another layer of creative input, allowing the artists to re-memory and
recreate a world of art that transcends time and space.
Jay Lau extracts, modifies, and collages images related to Hong Kong’s history from their
original sources, presenting them on various materials using printmaking techniques and
placing them in abandoned settings. Through the procedural nature of printmaking and the
intervention of materials, the meaning of the images is blurred to a point where they can be
reinterpreted, prompting reflection on how we should read and understand history as narrated
by others through images.
Frank Tang’ exhibition documents the “monuments” in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Due to the
changes in the social and political environment in both places in recent years, their meanings
and values have been redefined and reinterpreted. Their historical significance may be
questioned or affirmed. In this series of works, he attempts to record the appearance of these
“monuments” through mapping and various creative media.
Along with the annual MFA graduation show, we also have another group exhibition
featuring two first-year MFA students, Hou Lam Tsui and Chen Qiyang. Although their
practices and research seem to be very different, they have found a common ground, which is
also the theme of this exhibition. The Chinese title of the exhibition is taken from a lyric in
Tat Ming Pair’s 80s hit, while the English title references Freud’s concept of the game of
mind. Fort/da sheds light and reimagines the idea of the “game”, messing around through a
series of new works. In the video essay Rabu Rabu, Hou Lam Tsui manipulates the
framework and aesthetics of gal game, a type of Japanese video game centred on interactions
with attractive girls, presenting a fictional gal game in which the path of falling in love and
winning over the female protagonist does not exist. Chen Qiyang focuses on the practice of
Chinese calligraphy and presents works with a playful atmosphere as if they were a game.
Apart from recreating calligraphy classics, he is also eager to show an alternative side of
calligraphy, emphasising contrast in his practice. The first year’s exhibition is a playground
for having fun, creating sparks, and making happy accidents.
Chen Qiyang’s calligraphy is rooted in “tradition”. He explores new possibilities within the
framework of “tradition”, attempting to intervene in calligraphy’s creation and aesthetics
through the perspective of imagery. To a certain extent, he abandons the practicality of
calligraphy and enhances its beauty and expressive ability, ultimately presenting calligraphy
works with a focus on a comprehensive effect (including visual representation). He also treats
“learning from the classics” and “innovation” as a game, hiding them within the paper or
revealing them through ink, while finding order within chaos, embodying the spirit of
“embracing the old and ushering in the new.”
In the video essay Rabu Rabu, Hou Lam Tsui manipulates the framework and aesthetics of
gal game, a type of Japanese video game centred on interactions with attractive girls,
presenting a fictional gal game in which the path of falling in love and winning over the
female protagonist does not exist. Inspired by Eva Illouz’s idea of unloving, which Illouz
expresses as “a plot without a clear structure”, Tsui explores alternativity beyond the 2D
world and emotional capitalism. “Rabu rabu” means lovey-dovey in Japanese.
M.F.A. Graduate Exhibition
Exhibition Period: 24th June – 5th July, 2023
Venue: Gallery I, Art Museum, Central Campus, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 10a.m. to 5p.m. (closed on Thursdays)
Sunday and public holidays: 1p.m. to 5p.m.
M.F.A. Year One Exhibition
Exhibition Period: 24th June – 5th July, 2023
Venue: Hui Gallery, New Asia College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 10a.m. to 5p.m. (closed on Thursdays)
Sunday and public holidays: 1p.m. to 5p.m.
M.F.A. Graduate Exhibition and M.F.A. Year One Exhibition Opening Ceremony:
Time: 3:00 p.m., 24th June 2023 (Saturday)
Opening venue: Gallery I, Art Museum, Central Campus, the Chinese University of Hong Kong