Deadwater convulsion - Hong Kong - 1980s

Dead Water Convulsion - Hong Kong - 1980s Josh Hon

Dead Water Convulsion—Hong Kong—1980s Josh Hon

Wong Wo-Bik, Fire Place Series#3 - 15 Kennedy Road, silver print, 1987. Courtesy the artist. Josh Hon’s studio at 15 Kennedy Road.

3

I reopened my packed paintings as Leung Chi Wo arrived from Hong Kong to Hope two years ago. These paintings were still sealed in their packing boxes from twentyof my beating heart; they were words of kindness and appreciation.

The reshowing of my work twenty some years later ended up not as a regret but an acceptance. Things of the past now had a larger breathing room to be viewed. As I reach my hand to trace the strokes and thoughts of my past efforts, I sensed more otherness that once was not quite there. They even started to talk back to me. It was a nice thing.

Josh Hon June 10, 2016 Hope, B.C. Canada

Josh Hon, Where a Gentleman Won’t Stand Under, oil & pastel on canvas, 244 x 183cm, 1981. Courtesy the artist.

5

Josh Hon: Dead Water Convulsion —Hong Kong—1980s Leung Chi Wo

In September 1982, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made her inaugural visit to Beijing to discuss with Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Deng Xiao-Ping the indeterminate future of the Crown Colony, Hong Kong. A few months later in this same year, Josh Hon had returned to Hong Kong after ten years of academic studies in the United States to spend Christmas of 1982 with his family.

In the 1980s, Hong Kong ‘s complex situation of being unable to assert its subjectivity 1

themes. During

associations could be found in the popular genre of modern Chinese ink art championed

by Lui Shou-Kwan. Similar genealogy and social connections among art teachers and students further developed into an established tradition of like-minded art groups and newcomer Hon quickly emerged as one of a new generation of artists who, not bothering to

overseas studies had become more affordable, thanks to the economic miracle of the city

rare accomplishment for Hong Kong artists in the 1980s. With their critical formative used to articulating in a transnational language, very often preoccupied with universal issues such as postmodernism and social situations related to contemporary art. These

1

Hong Kong Art 1970-1980 (Hong Kong: Urban Council, 1981), p.6.

West identity. Having trained as a painter with knowledge of philosophy and cultural studies, Hon with this transnational background, intensively experimented with a diversity of media to develop his artistic practice along the socio-political change of Hong Kong during the pre-Handover years.

This exhibition presents a small selection of Josh Hon’s works from the 1980s. It begins chronologically with the oversized oil and pastel painting Under (1981), one of the last pieces created in the US before his return to Hong Kong. The a tension between the spatial abstraction on the surface and the ambivalent description in its title. is an excellent example of how Hon’s academic interest in religion and philosophy informed his painting with a precise construction of geometrical forms. The deeper philosophical complexity gives these seemingly abstract works an intellectual edge—an approach that was rare for even senior and more established artists in Hong Kong. In 1983, titled after the Chinese philosopher Mensius’ ( ) teachings on the fate of human nature and created in tandem with the artist’s thoughts on the world, Where a Gentleman Won’t Stand Under was exhibited in 2 . This critically acclaimed show was 3 a huge coup for such a young artist, paving a wide network of creative opportunities in front of him.

However, in the early 1980s in Hong Kong, art museums and art galleries were not yet ready for anything ground-breaking and innovative. It was the performing arts world that really bore the open mind for Hon’s artistic experiments fostering the growth of new media for Hong Kong: video, installation and performance. Here we see in the theatre piece Dead (1984), Hon translating forms into materials, body gestures and text by closely working with experimental theatre artists. This was an installation of different forms of water, the performance referring more to performance art than theatre performance.

The very rich visual experience was an ensemble of fragmentary imageries created with objects, sound, images and actions. Once implicit formal elements in his paintings were now emancipated into multi-media narratives addressing the psycho-emotional impact that he found in Hong Kong society to date. During the time of the mid 1980s, the prominent narrative was that Hong Kong would be inevitably returned in 13 years to the People’s Republic of China, whose chaotic and violent events during the Cultural Revolution still

2

An instrumental institution in the 1980s promoting contemporary art, particularly of this new generation of Hon and his peers whose works were not yet included in the narrative of Hong Kong art constructed by the Hong Kong Museum of Art 3 (Aug 11, 1983).

7

Josh Hon, Dead Water Convulsion, Feb 9-11, 1984. Courtesy the artist. Dead Water is a 3-day continuous event, which includes an installation piece with a videomonitoring section on every 2 hours during the day and a performance piece (80 min.) in the Chiang, Pia Ho, Dick Wong & Wong Kwan Sun.

in the performers’ insistent repetition and almost uncontrollable actions such as falling beings, it was now being foretold as real life politics in Hong Kong. The generated fear among people subtly implied in Hon’s artwork was already a very bold statement for visual art for its time, considering many others artists were focusing only on forms and traditions. The global art language has now been stringently negotiated into a very local situation—the artist, the audience and the society all self-referenced.

Though intentionally titled the same as the theatre piece into a series, two paintings Dead and offer to the audience here only abstract forms without any explicit statement. We may consider them as personal sketches on the development of forms and imageries shared by the performance and installation work.

However, paintings as a creative plane with internal logics fuelled with colours, forms and the artist’s engagement were consistent to Hon’s long time practice in spite of many different media entering into the artist’s life at this moment. Worthy to note here is: the more organic form and the play with more obvious brushstrokes that transited to more theatre works besides the global trend of painting then.

In the next few paintings in this exhibition, we began to see the emergence of human

artistic collaborations in the mid-1980s4. The rational and intellectual abstraction built by knowledge has been transformed into an ambivalence of complicated emotions via twisted also moved on to explore his positions in the society: from educator to advocate and critic to the current cultural environment.

Hon has been interested in creating artist initiatives alternative to the institution that lacked dynamic to promote new thoughts. He was instrumental in Out of Context, one of the most important experimental art projects in Hong Kong in the 1980s, turning his studio and that of his fellow artists into a temporary art space to exhibit installations, happenings and performances. The project itself was almost completely uncurated, anarchic, and took place for only 72 hours, but it had already become a landmark in the Hong Kong history

4

p.231.

(Hong Kong: MCCM Creation, 2009),

9

Josh Hon, Death Water Convulsion 1, oil on canvas, 106.2 x 142cm, 1984.

Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

generation of Hong Kong artists. The installation for Out of Context, an ice block melting in front of an unplugged fridge around the same material or motif for Hon’s art, its conceptual interchangeable physical state in this work also reminded us his consistent interest in philosophy with the hint from the title and its meanings, the inaccuracy and uncertainties indeed provide plenty of creative possibilities when he adapted it into his multi-media works (1988) and II (1989) to explore the notion of history.

While might stir mixed reviews for its very democratic approach to the creative decision and almost-out-of-control outcome, has made its 5

.

performance, here we could still sense the energy in the video documentation of the second one in this exhibition. The piece has been scripted carefully for the object installation, body movement, text and live music in parallel development however for plenty of rooms for improvisation of the performers and even the audience. All parties engaged in it had to explore their own position in the multi-track narrative. Fusion and contest of various media and forms ran along for both construction and destabilization of meanings, resonant to the ambiguity referring to the title. Its very subversive and chaotic performance was almost like predicting a tragedy three months later.

The Chinese government’s violent crackdown on June 4, 1989 on the students’ movement for anti-corruption and democracy in Beijing broke many Hong Kong people’s hearts. Out of sorrow and anger, Hon, with his peers called up many artists and students to refabricate the statue of Goddess of Democracy that was destroyed by the People’s Liberation Army in the Tiananmen Square. But this also ended its short life after a temporary display in the Victoria Park in Hong Kong. It was a beginning for many who took art making for granted to question the function and value of art in a society that was so traumatised. Particularly for Hon, it was a question that was always in his mind but had now become pressing. At least art was no longer his priority for his pursuit in life and he began to look to nature for his answer. In the early 1990s, like many others in Hong Kong, Hon decided to move to Canada, not only for the unclear future of Hong Kong overshadowed by the Chinese regime but perhaps more importantly for a new life that allowed him to be close to nature, 5

Chung, Mingder: Chih Book Co., 1999), p.298.

11

Josh Hon, As, If: Is, refrigerator, ice block, paint, dimensions variable, 1987.

Courtesy the artist.

and to rethink the meaning of art. Hon ended up in Hope, B.C., a small town situated outside of Vancouver with a population of only 7000, where he moved on to the role of a psychotherapist of which he still is today, counselling teenagers with family issues.

Currently, he makes small functional earth ware and paintings of his natural surroundings.

Hon’s art made in Hong Kong referred to the city, its people and himself of a particular time.

Since his departure from Hong Kong, it was unfortunate that not all of his works produced in Hong Kong could be preserved. By no means is this exhibition fully representative of his diverse and myriad artistic practice. Hopefully a selection of his drawings may also opportunities the later generations of Hong Kong artists enjoy today, I hope this exhibition can remind us that the art scene in Hong Kong was actually founded by many revolutionary artists like Josh Hon who pioneered an early presence of contemporary art in Hong Kong when the artistic environment was minimal during an important period of history.

Here I am deeply indebted to Mr. Josh Hon for his trust in me to orchestrate his return to the art world. This exhibition would not be possible without the encouragement and Director Tyler Russell. I would also like to acknowledge support from the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong for this exhibition and my research work on the artist.

13

Josh Hon & The Box of Many Levels, As If, His/Story II, Crown Theatre, Taipei, Mar 4-5, 1989.

Stills of video documentation. Courtesy the artist.

Josh Hon, Self-Portrait, graphite on paper, 52 x 45.7cm, 1976. Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

15

Excerpts from an Interview with Josh Hon Melissa Lee

USA. I wasn’t thinking about doing art when I started my studies. As a good, wholesome I got started. However, soon after arriving in the U.S in 1973, I felt that I gained a sense of freedom. There were many voices bubbling up inside me. My new found freedom permitted me to allow those voices to come out.

science, religion, and art. Formal training is good but also comes with a lot of traps. I felt I had to resist and actively de-educate myself. Decolonizing myself is similar to deeducating myself. School to me was a transient process. There was a larger sense that standardized education guides you in one particular direction so it takes longer to push it aside and be free. The Hong Kong experience, Chinese history ancestral connections, the colonial process and, feminism were not talked about both in the academic curriculum or among students particularly in the USA campus in the 70s. Have we fully addressed those issues as Hong Kong people in Hong Kong as of now? I don’t know but at least, some 40 years later, some of those issues are slowly coming to the forefront.

When I returned to Hong Kong in the early 1980s, I had my paintings un-stretched, rolled up, and put into a tube. In my heart I thought, I’m looking for a mentor, so with my paintings I hung around the Hong Kong Arts Centre. At that time, in the early 1980s, the Hong Kong Arts Centre was a place where artists would meet—a social hub for creative minds. In contrast, among artists it was widely felt that the Hong Kong Museum of Art was colonial and dusty. There was a sense of in-breeding—artists were being fed by the museum and presented in-house.

The Hong Kong Art Centre felt newer with less baggage and more vibrancy. Florence Chan, the program director was very open; anything that popped up she was game for it. presentations and venues; the organizers themselves were also new. All of them constituted the ‘newness’ of it. Of course everything had its root somewhere, we were not doing groundbreaking stuff. But in a social sense, it was groundbreaking in Hong Kong. It was

I thought, ok maybe this is the place, maybe I can run into somebody, and in fact I did, 1 . Strangely, I had no idea who she was, and I knew a little about 2 Hon Chi Fun , her husband. She said, why don’t you join me for dinner tonight? Bring your paintings. That was in 1982. From that dinner meeting I met up with the Hong Kong Arts Center gallery curator and he invited me for a one-man show. It was only later that I realized that it was a big deal. Many Hong Kong artists practiced for several years seeking validation, a stamp of approval from the Hong Kong Museum of Art or Hong Kong Arts Centre. Me, only a few months after returning, I got a show.

Theatre group Zuni Icosahedron3

4

5

were producing their

naturally attractive, I liked spatial things. I did sculpture in my undergrad. I collaborated with Zuni group on a play called Rooms—4 acts of revisiting rooms. That theatre piece became very different with my involvement because I worked on the premise that theater is not quite theater, it’s a mix with art performance. That was coming across in my collaborations with Zuni and with other theatre groups in the early 1980s. The organization was pretty that. I thought of the physical presentation, the sense of environment, temperature, etc. My participation contributed to changing the look of the work. I devised spatial dissonance, paintings at the time, particularly his isolated, contorted body gestures.

6

.I

1

A visual artist that has been active since the 1980s and co-founded 1aspace. She currently lectures at the Academy of Film, Hong Kong Baptist University.

2 An artistic pioneer of Hong Kong Modernist Landscape painting. Co-founded the circle art group in 1963.

3 Founded in 1982, Zuni is a Hong Kong based international theatre company. They have produced over 190 original productions.

4

Chinese Creative Industries Forum, Board Member of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, and Member of Design Council of Hong Kong.

17

collaborated with Willy Tsao, Lai Ho Ling7, Sunny Pang, a very good choreographer no longer in Hong Kong–I think he went to Australia. We worked together quite a lot. Later on, 8 in Hong Kong, travelled to Taiwan, and then 9 I worked with Kung Chi Shing , and created Josh And The Box. The Box wanted live music to become theater, so we tried to solve the problem.

We integrated text, body, actions, environmental context, music, and live vocals. All these things we tried to put together, people used that word multimedia but for me, it is how all these things could connect, and how could we together become a piece of artwork.

Ice usage actually involves time because it melts through the performance. That was part of the conceptual nature of the art—something that you could not catch or hold on to but had the sense of tremendous presence; water has so many symbolic associative meanings to it.

Through that exploration, I began to create the piece.

One of the paintings that I did was for a group show post-Tiananmen Square. What I put into the show was the last painting that I ever did in Hong Kong. I had a small painting reacting to the Chinese Government’s statement that nobody died, or 3 had been injured, or random numbers down—0, 2, 100, zillion as a satire, and on top of the numbers I glued a little toy laughing skull.

I had this tremendous survivor’s guilt after June 4th Tiananmen, which took me an incredibly long time to realize. In my heart I thought: If that guy standing in front of the tank was there10, what am I doing here? We waved this huge banner on the street in Hong Kong demanding justice–what the fuck was that? We talked about how effective art was to affect politics, and how effective art could be for us to become more aware of ourselves as 5 6

City Contemporary Dance Company, a leading Hong Kong dance company founded in 1979 by Willy Tsao.

7

past 30 years.

8 Founded by the British Council in 1979, it is currently supported by the Hong Kong government.

9 10

I am a trauma and sexual abuse counselor now and I am learning a lot more about antiviolence. I am hoping my work as a counsellor can help me understand more about political violence. I hope I can gain this insight before I get too old. Recently I went to an antiwoman what decolonization meant: to regain the land that was stolen from her.

That was a very clear physical condition for her, not theoretical. The second thing for her

are on my land, I cannot love you as such’.

Another presenter in the conference reminded me that we might not able to stop violence because the oppressors who delivers violence have power on their hands and will abuse it.

Despite that, the act of resistance will connect us together. By resisting, we create solidarity and uphold our dignity. This message is very strong for me. As early as in the 1980s I had this feeling: why is the idea of autonomy and independence so farfetched?

I still feel that sense of connectedness with Hong Kong today, like the Chinese saying ‘no need to talk, everyone knows’. I think the way that you can understand that connection is being Hong Kongese.

Going back to the political cultural environment-- we all understood it. We had lived our minds. Some had experienced the Red Guard ( through the war and postwar periods. This was the social-psychological environment we grew up. And this made everything we experienced very emotional because everyone was trying to survive.

The day after June 4th11 ideology would compel people to move that way. Post-June 4th Tiananmen square, a period

11

June 4th 1989 and the Tiananmen Square student uprising in Beijing.

19

of chaos reigned, and when the dust settled, Chinese pressure came back. They asserted more pressure, tested it out. They knew Hong Kong was going back to China. But in the early 80s, the optimism was there and we took that freedom and we ran with it.

1992 was the year I immigrated to Canada with my parents, and I decided that I would stay in Hope. Why Hope? Because it’s a good name. I think leaving [Hong Kong] was a personal reason. I needed to step back from the focus and platforms that I had in Hong Kong.

tremendous sense not of who we are, but of who are we? Crisis of identity is strong, and maybe it’s foreshadowing. Are we returning to China? Maybe the British don’t have to be then. There could be a rupture coming on and that fed the excitement; a sense of hope, possibility. People were thinking of democracy and that they should have a say. Was that tension or excitement?

One way or another, we, as Hong Kong artists, interwove ourselves, we found ways to accommodate art and our sense of social meaning. In the 1980s, yes, there were many intersections. We talked about a sense of identity; we even dared to think of a social, political future. The intertwining of art and social practice was unclear. I feel that the whole thing was so beautifully done in many ways when I look back. We were a very rough but civilized people trying to say something like cavemen, trying to articulate arts, politics, history and society together, but we were inarticulate. We didn’t really know what to say.

.

Josh Hon, Untitled, oil on canvas, framed in wood, 132 x 188cm, 1981.

Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

21

Josh Hon, Death Water Convulsion 2, oil on canvas, 132 x 172.25cm, 1984.

Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

Josh Hon, Face of Echo Hole, oil on canvas, 198 x 167cm, 1987.

Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

23

Josh Hon, HK as is, as/is: asism, oil on canvas, 199.3 x 166.3cm, 1987.

Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

Josh Hon, Rolling High, oil on canvas, 172.7 x 139.7cm, 1989. Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

25

Josh Hon, Sketch for Gaze at You, Muse, ink on paper, dimensions unknown, original lost, 1992. urinals with different objects like gold necklace and unearthed bamboo stick when exhibited in the Hong both the Museum and the artist.

Josh Hon, Study, ink on paper, 27.6 x 32.7cm, undated. Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

27

Josh Hon, Study, ink on paper, 30.4 x 38cm, undated. Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

Josh Hon, Study for Painting “Untitled I”, ink on paper, 45.7 x 61cm, c.1985. Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

29

Josh Hon, Study, graphite & ink on paper, 45.7 x 61cm, c.1985. Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

Josh Hon, Study, ink on paper, 43.2 x 53.3cm, undated. Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

31

Josh Hon, Study, ink on paper, 45.7 x 48.3cm, undated. Photo by Leung Chi Wo.

Timeline China

1949

Hong Kong

People’s Republic of China (PRC) founded Born in Hong Kong

1954

1957

Sino-British Orchestra renamed as Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

1960

Federation of Hong Kong Industries established.

1962

City Hall Museum and Art Gallery opened with solo exhibition of Lui Shou-kwan.

1963

First BA programme in studio arts in Hong Kong.

1966

Josh Hon

Cultural Revolution began.

Trade Development Council founded.

the Hong Kong border.

Anti-British Riots.

First wave of emigration.

1967

1969

First law degree programme in Hong Kong.

1971

TV Department established in Radio Hong Kong (RTHK).

1972 removed Hong Kong from the list of colonies upon request by the PRC which replaced ROC (Taiwan) for China’s

Student protest against Japan’s claim from China of Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyu Islands for Mainland China, or Diaoyutai Islands for Taiwan.

Began learning Chinese ink painting as secondary school extracurricular activity.

Lutheran University (PLU), Tacoma, US to study philosophy, religion and social sciences.

Met with Willy Tsao in PLU, who later founded the City Contemporary Dance Company in Hong Kong (CCDC).

3

China

Hong Kong

1973

Ranked the largest toy exporter in the world.

Hong Kong Arts Festival founded.

1974

Independent Commission Against Corruption established.

Chinese also became

Josh Hon

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra became fully professional.

1975

First arrival of refugees from Vietnam.

Modern Chinese ink art master Lui Shou-kwan dies.

First Hong Kong Art (last edition in 2005).

1976

Cultural Revolution ended with the death of Mao Zedong.

Hong Kong Arts Centre opened.

Hong Kong Repertory Theatre founded.

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra founded.

1977

1978

Ranked the second largest watch exporter in the world.

Festival of Asian Arts founded (last edition in 1998).

Chinese government agreed to intervene immigrants to Hong Kong.

BFA in painting, drawing and photography, PLU.

Practicum in Tacoma, US, working as producer for community art projects, photographer and T-shirt printer till 1979.

China

Hong Kong

Josh Hon

Hong Kong Governor (Murray MacLehose) to China since the founding of PRC. Star Group outdoor exhibition in Beijing.

declared for Vietnamese refugees.

City Contemporary Dance Company founded.

Washington University

The government stopped granting asylum to Chinese refugees who safely reach urban areas.

MA in Painting, CWU.

1979

1980 Premier Huang Hua to Hong Kong

Kong Arts Centre.

Hong Kong citizens lost their right of abode in the UK as their full British citizenship had been changed to the status of British Dependent Territories citizen.

Space Museum opened.

1981

Fine Arts, University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, US.

Museum of Art. 1982

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Beijing and Sino-British negotiation on Hong Kong’s future began.

Hong Kong Dance Company founded.

The Council for the Performing Arts established by the Hong Kong Government.

Zuni Icosahedron founded.

Returned to Hong Kong.

1983

China insisted the UK had no role in Hong Kong after 1997.

The Hong Kong dollars was pegged to the US dollar at the rate of HKD7.8 to USD1 to stabilize the swift

Began teaching in Hong Kong at various occasions till 1995 at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the departments of extracurricular studies of Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong and Baptist University First solo exhibition

crisis on the future.

First Fringe Festival as alternative to the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

International Video Kong Arts Centre.

Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Participated in the production of Drawing Room of Zuni Icosahedron.

Began stage design for CCDC productions with Willy Tsao’s .

5

1984

1985

China

Hong Kong

Sino-British Joint Declaration signed for the return of the sovereignty of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997 from the UK to China

Second wave of emigration.

Hong Kong Fringe Club founded.

Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts founded.

in effects for 50 years.

Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Josh Hon

the ‘80s- Contemporary Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Participated in the production of of Zuni Icosahedron.

First indirect election for the Legislative Council.

HSBC Headquarters opened.

Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture was established.

1986

Video art collective Videotage founded.

Fringe Rooftop Studio founded by Josh Hon, Wong (closed in 1987).

Monthly Chinese magazine published (totally for 9 issues).

1987

Stage design for , CCDC production, Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Kong Arts Centre.

Alternative space 3-day Kennedy Road, Hong Kong.

Artist Chan Ching Wah (Josh Hon’s former student) sprayed her own painting in the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial Hall) as a protest against the judging process.

Kong Arts Centre.

Installation produced for Solo exhibition, Fung’s

China

Hong Kong

1988 process implemented to differentiate real Vietnamese refugees (political) from boat people (economic) who were to be sent back to Vietnam. organized by Hong Kong Arts Centre as a sequel

1989 of China, Beijing.

Tiananmen Massacre of protesters for democracy.

Million-strong protest supporting the student movement for democracy in Beijing.

Third wave of emigration.

Ad hoc group Arts Support formed in response to the student movement in Beijing, along with a fax-art propaganda campaign and art fair.

The PLA-destroyed Statue of Goddess of Democracy refabricated and displayed in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Cultural Centre opened.

Hanart Gallery.

1990

passed by Congress for the post97 Hong Kong.

HSBC redomiciled from Hong Kong to London.

Commemorative June Fourth exhibitions co-organized by Arts Support with the Asian American Art Centre of DC and Los Angeles.

Artist-run space Quart Society founded (closed in 1992).

Josh Hon

Theatre work , City Contemporary Theatre, Hong Kong.

of China, Beijing.

Installation by Joshua Gallery, Hong Kong.

Stage design for , a CCDC production, Hong Kong City Hall.

Researcher for a RTHK 13-episode TV Theatre work with The Box of Many Levels As , Crown Theatre, Taipei.

Theatre work with the Box of Many Levels Madame X, City Contemporary Theatre, Hong Kong Hong Kong Fringe Club.

Music performance Kong Fringe Club.

Music Performance Hong Kong.

Theatre work with The Box , Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Hong Kong.

Music performance University of Hong Kong.

7

China

1991

Hong Kong

, transposed the and passed by the Legislative Council.

The new premise of Hong Kong Museum of Art opened.

1992

Last Governor Chris advocated for political reforms that received objection from China.

Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre opened.

1993

The Preparatory Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region established in Beijing.

Demolition of the ungoverned Kowloon Walled City began.

Arts Centre & Hong Kong City Hall.

Josh Hon

Theatre work with The Box for Around The World in 80 Days, a Dance Forum Taipei production, Taiwan tour.

Theatre work with The Box , Theatre, Taipei.

Music performance with The Box, , City Contemporary Theatre, Hong Kong.

Vibrance: Recent Works in Western Media by Kong Museum of Art. Music performance with The Box , City Contemporary Theatre, Hong Kong.

Immigrated to Canada (but still returned to Hong Kong and Taiwan for a few theatre productions till 1996.)

, a music theatre piece with The Box, Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Centre A Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art Canada 604.683.8326 | info@centrea.org www.centrea.org This exhibition catalogue is published on occassion of the exhibition Dead Water at the Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (Centre A). July 6-23, 2016.

All Artist Photos courtesy of Josh Hon and Leung Chi Wo. Artist—Josh Hon Curator—Leung Chi Wo

Centre A staff:

Makiko Hara, Curator-in-Residence Christian Vistan, Curatorial Assistant Aubin Kwon, Gallery Assistant Jourdan Tymkow, Development Assistant

Public Funders

Annual Sponsors

Kiyoshi Whitley, as well as Mondivan Developments Ltd., the David Lam Centre, Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, and the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.

Printed in Canada.