4 Solos @ Connecting Space

4 Solos @ Connecting Space Sandra Bühler · Lukka Gao Shiyu · Marc Latzel · Frank Tang Kai-yiu · in Dialogue

Marc Latzel from the series Schmutzfarbe, 2015 C-print (detail)

Frank Tang Kai-yiu painting (detail) from the series Impression Mapping_Wengen, 2014

Sandra B端hler Do you hear the people sing?, 2015 Documentary film, 34min (video still, detail) 4

4 Solos @ Connecting Space Sandra Bühler · Lukka Gao Shiyu · Marc Latzel · Frank Tang Kai-yiu · in Dialogue

Sandra B端hler Do you hear the people sing?, 2015 Documentary film, 34min (video still)

Frank Tang Kai-yiu from the series Impression Mapping_Wengen, 2014, Tourist Map of Wengen

Exhibition booklet Connecting Spaces Documents # 6

4 Solos @ Connecting Space Sandra Bühler · Lukka Gao Shiyu · Marc Latzel · Frank Tang Kai-yiu · in Dialogue July 18th – August 13th, 2015 The exhibition 4 Solos @ Connecting Space brings together works by two Hong Kong-based and two Zurich-based artists, reflecting their stay in the opposing city. Presented as four simultaneous solo exhibitions, the heterogeneous practices nevertheless enter into dialogue centered on the common issue of confrontation with alterity. Solo 1 · Sandra Bühler · Hong Kong Sketches Solo 2 · Lukka Gao Shiyu · Take Your Protein Pill and Put Your Helmet On Solo 3 · Marc Latzel · Schmutzfarbe Solo 4 · Frank Tang Kai-yiu · I Was Away for a While Curated by Katja Gläss and Alice Wong Connecting Space Hong Kong G/f, 18-20 Fort Street, Wah Kin Mansion North Point, Hong Kong www.connectingspaces.zhdk.ch www.zhdk.ch Supported by Stadt Zürich Kultur, Migros Culture Percentage, Zurich University of the Arts. The Hong Kong Arts Development Council supports the exhibition by Frank Tang Kai-yiu.

Texts: Brandon Farnsworth Editing and curatorial concept: Patrick Müller (Director of Connecting Spaces Hong Kong – Zurich) All photo credits © by the artists Layout: Katja Gläss Thanks to: Nuria Krämer (Head of Connecting Space Hong Kong) for all of her help developing this exhibition, her ongoing support, and her curatorial contributions and suggestions; Jessica Lam Pui Ying (Production Manager Connecting Space Hong Kong) for organization and on-location support. Connecting Spaces Hong Kong – Zurich is a transdisciplinary and transcultural project, an initiative by Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Its two principal objectives are to explore perspectives and opportunities for cooperation between Hong Kong and Zurich and to consider the future of arts universities in the globalized twenty-first century. Connecting Spaces rests firmly on the principle of cooperation. It aims to stimulate mutual exchange between Hong Kong and Zurich on the level of concrete cultural practices. Connecting Spaces is a hub and an exploratory platform for collaborative projects between Zurich University of the Arts and various institutions in Hong Kong. At ZHdK, Connecting Spaces involves staff and students and investigates various teaching, production, and research formats. In Hong Kong, the project addresses actors from different educational and cultural institutions. Edited by Connecting Spaces Hong Kong - Zurich Zurich University of the Arts, 2015

Preface Brandon Farnsworth

One can draw from of the exhibition 4 Solos @ Connecting Space, taking place at the Connecting Space Hong Kong – Zurich between July 18th and August 13th 2015, numerous relations between the four positions being shown. Depending on one’s perspective, one can see the show as four solo exhibitions happening in the same space, as an encounter between two Hong Kong-based artists and two Zurich-based ones, or once again, true to the name of the space, as an exhibition of works by Hong Kong artists during their studio residencies in Zurich, and Zurich artists during their time spent working in Hong Kong. Lastly, one could of course see it as the solo show of one artist they know, with three others to discover as well. The experiences of those on the two sides seem necessarily different on the surface, being, as they are, confronted with two very different cities. Looking closer however, one observes that it is rather a common confrontation with alterity that serves as a unifying point of these heterogeneous practices. This confrontation with a new and unfamiliar place has challenged each of the participants in the exhibition to reflect on their artistic practice and adapt it to a new set of surroundings, a new context. When one takes a step back and considers this dense network linking the different positions, one can observe the growth of

an in-between space connecting the two cities. This space is much more than a metaphorical link, actualized by air travel, between the two. Rather, it is the growth of a place that cannot be found in either city, but is in a way imaginary, embodied in the artists, and perhaps only discernable through examining their practices. It could be seen as the expansion and growth of this hyphen between Zurich – Hong Kong, an expansion that encompasses hybrid practices emerging between the two cities. It has in each case resulted not in a mastery of the other, but rather in a cognisance of the constitution of the self and one’s own artistic practice. It is exactly this production of a greater awareness of the self through the mirror of the thing perceived as other (to reduce to the most basic of categories) that is the precondition for the creation of this imaginary “connected space” between Zurich and Hong Kong. This is the space in-between where it is exactly the examination of identities in transition and flux that works to outline the erratic and fluid borders of its territory. Ultimately, the confrontation between self and other dissolves into this fluid expanse where these binary categories seem to loose their relevancy. This engagement with alterity can be seen in each of the exhibition’s positions.

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Though each of the artists have their backgrounds in different traditions and are showing works in the most diverse of formats, this engagement nevertheless remains detectable in all the works. In the two videos presented by Sandra Bühler, for instance, the artist is involved in a process of coming into an unfamiliar situation with her camera, and attempting to make sense of her surroundings. During this process, the circumstantial nature of the narrative that unfolds in front of her lens is never lost on the artist. The inherently subjective story she creates (whether with her lens, in interviews, in her own interactions, or in the editing and cutting of the final product) leads her to ask larger questions of representation and identification within processes of medialization. In this way, the confrontation with the organization of social systems - Chungking Mansions and the Umbrella Movement being the examples she uses here - leads inevitably to a process of (self-)reflection on method and the formation of subjectivities through storytelling. The work of Lukka Gao Shiyu captures the character of this space as well, though in a very different way. We have already seen how the “connected space” between Zurich – Hong Kong is something intangible and imaginary. It can thus not be located on a map, but only reached indirectly. It is a space that Gao is however explicitly interested in portraying in her installation dealing with encounters between two fictional civilizations. The

metaphor she presents allows the viewer to grasp her meaning obliquely, without her having to portray this space directly (as that wouldn’t be possible). In this way, she is able to capture something indescribable and fluid by inducing in the viewer a sense of this hybrid space. The approach of Marc Latzel is again another way to address this in-between space. Schmutzfarbe (meaning “dingy colour” in German) investigates a specific colour effect that he perceived in the city by presenting a large-scale photo mosaic. The mosaic, consisting of many pictures that capture the specific hues that Latzel seeks to portray, when considered as a whole articulate the greater colourunderstanding the photographer has of the city in a way not expressible in words. This non-discursive portrayal is in fact not part of this connected space, but rather stems from an engagement with it. The inspiration for the work comes from the sensibilization and training of the photographer’s eye in a situation with a different colour reality than Hong Kong. The confrontation with this new location takes place in his work primarily on the level of colour. Though the form of his output remains unchanged, his engagement with this very physical property (a specific colour palette) shows a greater self-awareness of the geographical contingency of his training, and in this way forms part of the connected space. Physical phenomena also play an important role in the works shown in I was

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away for a while, Frank Tang Kai-yiu’s contribution to the exhibition. Many of his works begin with a specific impression, for instance of a mountain, a tree, or a cloud. These then become the subjects of his paintings, which he renders carefully in the Chinese ink tradition. His paintings are based on producing a feeling in the viewer of “co-experiencing” the scene through his eyes. In his series of paintings of Switzerland, one is thus confronted with the disparity between his gaze on the Swiss countryside and the Swiss iconography of the same that is propagated internationally (see for instance the ads for Gallerie Bruno Bischofberger on the back of Artforum magazine since the 1980s). This disparity thematicizes the relationship between a place and its normative representation. Engaging with and appropriating this culturally-laden topic forces it to be reevaluated in terms of its existence within a specific political aesthetic.

many possible points of approach to it. Once the viewer finds a certain point of entry, it becomes a game of comparing various confrontations and solutions, and observing their assorted affinities and divergences. It is thus hoped that this dialogue can be interesting and beneficial for the viewer of the exhibition, allowing them as well to begin to question their presumptions and the constitution of their own identity, and with it, gain admittance into this connected space.

What becomes clear when looking at these four approaches to the space between Hong Kong – Zurich described above is most of all the heterogeneous ways in which it is addressed in the artists’ works. Important is not the way in which it is broached, nor even the intentionality of the approach. What can be seen as the issue at hand is the unique way in which each of the artists confronts and finally appropriates or dissolves otherness, in their own way and on their own terms. The four different strategies for addressing this issue allow the viewer to have

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Lukka Gao Shiyu The Swiss Roll, Identity Crisis and the Protesters, 2014, live projection, image of revolving Swiss roll toy

Sandra B端hler Do you hear the people sing?, 2015 Documentary film, 34min (video still)

Marc Latzel from the series Schmutzfarbe, 2015 C-print (detail)

Frank Tang Kai-yiu painting from the series Impression Mapping_Zurich, 2014

Sandra B端hler Mitch and Alfred, 2014 Experimental film, 20min (video still)

Sandra Bühler Hong Kong Sketches

In Dialogue

Katja Gläss: As you all know, this exhibition consists of four separate “solo” exhibitions in the same space. Regardless of how different your practices may seem on the surface, I think that there are still some similarities between the different artists. That’s why we thought we could start a dialogue, to see if we could find out what lies in-between your four separate positions. Marc, did you want to start? Marc Latzel: Yes, I had a question for Frank; can you tell me a bit about the process you go through when you paint your paintings? Do you draw the paintings in the landscape, or do you photograph them and then work on them later in your studio? Frank Tang Kai-yiu: It depends. Sometimes I make a draft in the field, and sometimes I take a picture and then work on it in the studio like you said. It really depends if I absolutely want to capture the feeling I have in the moment. When that happens, I’ll try and make a draft wherever I am, and try and express on the paper my thoughts and emotions, then I take the sketch back into the studio and finish it there. Marc: For me it’s quite

In Dialogue

Consisting of a wide and diverse array of shops, guesthouses, and currency exchange bureaus, the complex known as Chungking Mansions, located in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong, has developed into a hub for trade between China and, among others places, many African nations. This trade can also come to include the exchange of questionable goods, and dubious people. This location forms the backdrop for video artist Sandra Bühler’s video entitled Mitch and Alfred (2014). It follows a protagonist (explaining his story through subtitles) who tells of his opportunity to escape from poverty, and his resulting dependence on the immense and enigmatic systems of global trade. His necessity to survive has led to the most surreal of situations, laden with the names of disparate countries strung together into an unlikely story written and directed by the exchange of money and dubious goods. This topsy-turvy world is mirrored in the film’s visuals, whose kaleidoscopic style was inspired by the unique mix of LED shop signs and mirrors in the stalls of Chungking Mansions. Just as one can never be sure of the true facts of Alfred’s story, so too does it become impossible to discern reflections from reality, and distortions from the true physical layout of the building. His narrative constantly confronts the viewer with the question of what is fact and what is fiction. This ambiguity lies at the heart of Mitch and Alfred, and is the inspiration for the work’s title. At the beginning of the film, the protagonist identifies himself as Mitch, though he admits after a time that his real name is in fact Alfred. His lie begins to reveal how transient the facts can become inside the world of Chungking Mansions. Later in the film

Sandra Bühler · Hong Kong Sketches

however, he switches again, claiming that his real name is Mitch, not Alfred. With this second reversal, it becomes clear that this person is a sort of chameleon, able to adapt his personality (and stories) to best suit his surroundings and the people he meets and interacts with; in Chungking Mansions one must constantly adapt one’s identity, appearing as a gangster one minute, and an upstanding businessman the next. He is able to disappear into this massive underground system, and reemerge somewhere else sporting a new name, and a new life, at least for a time. Bühler acts as an investigator, coming from outside this situation and attempting to string together a story based on the accounts that she can capture with her camera. The story of Mitch and/or Alfred navigates always along the fine line between fact and fiction, oscillating between the two until the line becomes blurred beyond recognition. In her second work for this exhibition, entitled Do You Hear the People Sing? (2015), she presents interviews done during the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement in a similar fashion. Bühler once again acts as an investigator, attempting to create a picture of the movement coming from outside. The Umbrella Movement is similar to the underworld produced by global capital, as it is another system often kept well out of sight but is nevertheless present and constitutive of the city’s identity. Furthermore, it stands in stark opposition to the autocratic regime of the Chinese mainland, whose influence over the city, many Hong Kong people would say, has grown rapidly since the city’s handover from the British in 1997. Protesters worry that this increasing influence will destroy the city’s unique identity, threatening to disenfranchise the people of Hong Kong even further than is already the case. Going “inside” the movement, and conducting interviews with people on the street, it becomes clear that it is in no

Sandra Bühler · Hong Kong Sketches

different. It’s really only the editing process that I am doing in the studio, the final form itself has to already be present when I take the initial picture. You can reframe it a little bit, but for the most part, the picture is done afterwards. Sandra Bühler: It’s actually similar to my process with video. I have to capture everything in the field first, and can only edit it afterwards. That being said, even though I have to work with the material I already have, this editing process actually has an enormous influence on the end product. Marc: Cutting and selecting seems to be almost like another creation process. Sandra: Yes, I would say so too. I think that it’s actually interesting for your practice too, Marc. When you start strolling around the city looking to make your photos, do you start to develop a feeling, a direction of a story that you are taking, or do you stay completely open, and shape the story later in the studio? Marc: When I’m strolling, I’m totally open. I often try to have a story in my mind, but it never works! It’s a process of discovery, it happens totally ran-

In Dialogue

Sandra B端hler Do you hear the people sing?, 2015 Documentary film, 34min (video stills)

way a harmonious and united group. Rather, what becomes visible is the enormous collection of different positions and interests represented within the mass of people seen from the outside as a singular unit (“the” movement). These different interests seem constantly in a process of negotiation with each other, creating compromises that either keep the movement going, or causes it to collapse. The narrative Bühler weaves here is thus one of a “possible scenario” of how the movement happened. By bringing in this lightly fictional element, she highlights the fact that she can only string together her own interpretation of the complex situation, made up of a collection of the opinions of those she meets along her path. In this way, the video becomes less about the movement itself, and more about a reflexive questioning of representation of any societal process, along with the dangers and pitfalls of translation that come with it.

domly. Lukka Gao Shiyu : My case is a little different, I work with images that have already been done by other people, so the choices I have are sometimes somewhat limited. I have my own way to translate them though, which is how I manage to express my own ideas through these appropriated images. Brandon Farnsworth: So for you, the selection process is also important, it’s just that someone else produces the material. Lukka: Yes! I think this actually leads quite well into a question I had for Sandra. You mentioned that the two situations that you filmed in Hong Kong, in Chungking Mansions and the Umbrella Movement, you understood as theaters where the people were in a way acting. When you went to film these “performances”, did you have any specific expectations as to what you were going to see? Sandra: I went there in the beginning more just to investigate. It was very overwhelming to see these places because of how different they were from the Hong Kong that I knew. Once you enter, you start to experience all the different stories that

Sandra Bühler · Hong Kong Sketches

In Dialogue

Marc Latzel from the series Schmutzfarbe, 2015 C-print (detail)

Lukka Gao Shiyu Fear and Desire in 1:12, 2015 Installation of miniature toys (detail of project preparation)

the individual people have, and where they agree or disagree with each other. You’ll also see how many people have very well rehearsed answers, but ones that contradict what other people say are going on. Because I’m a foreigner coming into this situation not knowing much about it, it was basically impossible for me to figure out what was “actually” happening in these places in such a short amount of time, as I got so many different opinions. Marc: It seems like it comes back to this topic of selection process, even though each of us seems to have a different approach to how we do it. Katja: And it becomes, at least in Sandra’s case, and maybe in all of them, a question of how to tell a story from your own perspective. Brandon: As well as challenging the belief that there can be any kind of objective representation of something like the Umbrella Movement that doesn’t represent any biases from a specific interest. Maybe this actually could go back to your work Frank, and the paintings that you’ve created of Switzerland and the mountain paintings in particular.

In Dialogue

Lukka Gao Shiyu Take Your Protein Pill and Put Your Helmet On Science fiction is rife with examples of encounters between two alien civilizations. These encounters are representations of the real-world ideologies of their authors, made palatable through the veil of fictionalization and metaphor. It is this approach of the authors of science fiction that the artist Lukka Gao Shiyu takes as inspiration for her work. The installation consists of ready-made science fiction figurines, and can be read as a metaphor addressing the topic of exchange and encounter. Her work thus indirectly addresses the context of the exhibition at the Connecting Space Hong Kong itself. The way in which Gao uses this grand analogy is very significant in this work, as metaphors and jokes play a central role in her practice. First and foremost, metaphor is for Gao a strategy for creating situations that are far more approachable than the overwhelmingly complex issues surrounding cultural exchange. By working in this way, she creates situations that encourage the audience to connect with the work in their own way, and where they can hopefully see a part of themselves reflected in its metaphor instead of lost in grasping specific details of a given case. This poetic approach thus gains in its indirectness a great power and capacity to affect its audience, one which would be impossible to achieve otherwise. Creating a fictional world is a form of escapism not just for the audience, but for the artist as well, who uses it as a coping strategy for dealing with the grim realities of the real world. By retreating into her fictional world, she can assert her dominance over these issues, and begin to feel a sense of control over them. This process of small-scale empowerment allows the artist to enact change at the molecular level, with the hope that her

23 _Lukka Gao Shiyu · Take Your Protein Pill and Put Your Helmet On

actions will lead to small but possible and meaningful changes in both her own life, and those of her audience. Furthermore, Gao attempts to highlight that the ideologies lying behind mass media often go largely ignored and accepted, and are not called into question nearly enough in proportion to the effect that they exert on the lives of a great number of people. For instance the highly stylized sci-fi readymades made use of in the exhibition are nevertheless also the reflection of certain specific ideologies of their authors when it comes to behavior in relation to the exotic and unknown “other”, ideologies which the audience then often naively accepts upon engaging with the work. By appropriating these figurines, Gao also invites the viewer to scrutinize them, call them into question, and begin to think about their origin, construction, and possible hidden agendas. Related to this, the installation also touches on the hidden relations of production that are invested in the creation of these objects. The toys used in this installation have all been sourced from the factory-direct marketplace taobao.com, popular for its gigantic assortment of knick-knacks produced in Mainland Chinese factories. This assortment of action figures (available at unbeatable prices) highlights on the one hand the recent deindustrialization of Hong Kong in favour of China (in the toy industry particularly), and on the other Gao’s more personal situation as a Shanghai-born artist in Hong Kong, who struggles to constitute a hybrid identity split across the Mainland-Hong Kong divide. This topic of identity can be seen as the central leitmotiv of Gao’s work, as it frequently seems that all other topics end up circling around it. In the way she works with and combines objects often laden with multiple layers of cultural significance, one gets the impression that she is experimenting in her practice with the very act of constituting her identity by means of appropriation of various images and culturally significant goods.

Lukka Gao Shiyu · Take Your Protein Pill and Put Your Helmet On___ 24

Frank: Yes, I think it could. In my work, I always try and invite the viewer to come into the painting and explore it with me. An example would be that in many of my paintings, I leave large parts of the canvas blank. This is in order to get the audience to imagine the space with me, so that we can do it together. On the other hand, for instance in the Impression Mapping series that’s in the exhibition, I also show a map of where the 14 paintings were done. This is so that the people can look at the paintings as well as the map, and then use their imagination to travel with us. Marc: For me it’s very interesting that you’re speaking about ways of guiding the spectator, or ways of getting the spectator to enter into your universe. This is actually a very different way of shaping a picture than I would do when working with film or photography. We have more principles of focus and out of focus that guide the spectator’s eye, and maybe a little bit of work with perspective, but that’s about it. In landscape photography, it’s actually pretty boring when everything is in sharp focus, but it seems to work quite well in drawing, as you’re using totally different

In Dialogue

strategies, like you just described. Frank: Speaking of photography, I’ve been using Google Maps to look at the places I visited near the Jungfrau Mountain quite a bit lately. It helps me to remember these places that I haven’t seen in a year now. I find looking at them on that website gives me another impression of them. It often turns out that my memory has forgotten or left out parts of the scenery that I then see on the computer screen. Lukka: I’ve heard that some Chinese traditional painters don’t make sketches when they’re in the mountains, and sometimes wait a couple of days before drawing this view that they had. Is that true? Frank: It depends, some do, some don’t. Lukka: But for you, the state of mind is still very important when you produce your paintings. How then has being back in Hong Kong affected how you paint the things you’ve seen in Zurich? Frank: To be honest, lately I haven’t really been painting many things in Hong Kong at all! Alice Wong: He’s been painting mostly the

In Dialogue

This struggle with identity can also be read in the context of a larger phenomenon within Chinese society of a coming to terms with the rapid industrialization, urbanization, and processes of immigration that have made up the current history of the country. On another level, this process of conscious constitution of one’s own identity could also be read in terms of the rise of the digital age, which has brought with it a class of digital nomads who are at home everywhere (for the nomad never moves, rather it is their surroundings that move), but belong to no one place in particular. Gao’s work often produces uniquely heterotopic (usually digital) spaces that are both physical and mental representations of the identities she seeks to produce. This effect can be seen perhaps most prominently in an earlier work of hers, entitled The Swiss Roll, Identity Crisis and the Protesters, shown as part of her solo exhibition at Museum Bärengasse in Zurich, Switzerland, and in a group show at the Connecting Space Hong Kong. In this work, she projects a live video of three spinning Swiss rolls (present as well physically in the exhibition) onto a large panning picture of protesters in Hong Kong. The confused identity of the physicallypresent Swiss rolls, invented not in Switzerland, but in Central Europe, and now popular in Hong Kong bakeries, contrast with the confused national identity of the Hong Kong citizens in relation to China, to which they belong but cannot identify with. As her Zurich studio residency happened to be during the time of the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement, she felt her identity become even more confused, as she was not part of this watershed moment in the constitution of a young Hong Kong revolutionary identity. Thus the projected video managed to capture all these aspects of presence and absence, as well as to create a heterotopic space that is neither here nor there, but rather slips into the ambiguities inbetween.

25 _Lukka Gao Shiyu · Take Your Protein Pill and Put Your Helmet On

Lukka Gao Shiyu The Swiss Roll, Identity Crisis and the Protesters, 2014, live Projection (detail, original in colour)

Lukka Gao Shiyu Everyone but Hong Kong Sinks, 2015 mixed media installation with single channel live projection (detail)

Marc Latzel Schmutzfarbe

The 19th century practice of creating tableaux vivants (“living paintings”) consisted of costumed actors who would pose motionlessly on stage in front of an audience, silently creating real-life versions of popular paintings and dramatic or historical scenes. The meticulously orchestrated tableaux were carefully staged, with organizers going to great lengths to assure the exact positioning of the actor’s body in relation to the larger composition. The exhaustive accuracy and precision of these scenes fascinates the Swiss photographer Marc Latzel, as they represent the epitome of the carefully disciplined body. In his own work, Latzel emulates this detailed organization, though he follows a very different compositional method for constructing his shots. Instead of achieving the effect of a tableau vivant by carefully staging every small element of the photograph, he works instead with the frame of the camera, his own photographic skill, and a bit of luck to create images that, though seemingly rigorously staged, are actually a kind of ready-made. They are shots that are already present in the situations that he focuses on, but are only uncovered or brought to light through a carefullyexecuted selection process. However staged the photographs may seem, however clear the formal principle is by which they are organized, the “score” which they follow is not determined by a director’s careful instructions to the group (as would have traditionally been the case in a tableau vivant, or for instance in the work of Jeff Wall, whose photographs share a similar style). Rather, what becomes visible is some greater, unknown, and indescribable force guiding actions and determining forms.

Marc Latzel · Schmutzfarbe

mountains around Zurich after returning to Hong Kong, but not the mountains around here! Frank: It’s because it’s so stressful being in this city... Katja: The last time I was there, I was constantly reminded of the videos that you did of the sky here in Zurich. For me, the way that you focused my attention so much on the sky here helped me to realize just how much I was surrounded by these skyscrapers the whole time I was in Hong Kong, because when I looked up at the sky, the buildings I no longer took notice of were there as well. Again, it’s a question of having a different perspective because of something experienced in a different city. Maybe this could be a question for Lukka, actually: how was it for you going back to Hong Kong, what kind of influence did your trip have on your work? Lukka: What I noticed when I came back here after the whole Umbrella Movement thing happened was how little people were talking about it, which really surprised me. It could be because most of my friends come from Mainland China like me, but they treat it like it’s something totally passed, something that

In Dialogue

we don’t need to talk about. It’s a very uncanny silence, I think. I was in a pretty comfortable situation when I was working in Zurich during the time it was going on. I was not personally involved in this movement because I wasn’t there, but I made an artistic choice to reflect on it by making artworks. If a friend asked what I was doing for it, I could always tell them I’d done some artworks. Nevertheless, I actually felt a bit guilty about not having done enough. The new works I’m doing are related to this identity crisis of mine, but are more on the level of metaphor, as they’re dealing with outer space, instead of with the situation specifically, but still related to things that are happening in real life. Alice: It’s not just people from Mainland that aren’t talking about the Umbrella Movement, I’d say it’s everyone. Frank: We somehow feel a bit like the losers, because we feel like we can’t change anything. Sandra: I’m still thinking about emphasizing more of the fictional element of this movie I’m presenting about the Umbrella Movement. If you imagine the

In Dialogue

Latzel makes visible this hidden force guiding and composing the elements of the photograph, calling it the “second layer” of its existence. The first layer is the technical perfection of the photograph, a discipline that every professional photographer must learn, and one that has become increasingly accessible with recent technological advances in photography. The second layer however is exactly this mysterious element present in the picture that encourages the viewer to look deeper and linger on it, captivating their interest and sense of wonder. In this regard, Latzel is very much influenced by the work of Joel Sternfeld, whose spontaneous shots belie a multiplicity of potential meanings. It is precisely the mystique and instablility of this strange organizational force present in the photographs that lends them their power and encourage the viewer to engage with the enigma of their composition, bringing into their reading of the photograph their own interests and background. This force constitutes the poetic element of the photograph, as poetry presents an unnamable and enigmatic truth to its audience that is grounded in the presence of a certain structure of language. In the same way, these photographs present a particular technical aesthetic, which is then pushed to its breaking point, to the point of unnamability, by the capturing of this hidden organizing force. For this exhibition, Marc Latzel presents a series of pictures of Hong Kong that investigate the particular light and colour profile of the city through the eyes of a professional photographer. His principal interest is in examining the city’s specifc mixture of natural and artificial light, as well as showing how their interaction with variously toned surfaces give Hong Kong a particular and distinct visual identity. Latzel was inspired by photos he took in the MTR subway system of the mosaics lining the walls of many of the stations. What he saw was a very specific mix of deep and visually interesting colours combining with poor artificial lighting

Marc Latzel · Schmutzfarbe

Marc Latzel from the series Schmutzfarbe, 2015 C-prints, 4 tiles

worst-case scenario for Hong Kong, it would be that China restricts the freedom of speech more, and puts even more restrictions on democracy there. It would just be like the Umbrella Movement never really happened at all. Lukka: Well maybe we say that the movement failed because it didn’t reach its final goal, but I think that it succeeded somehow because it really made a change in the way of thinking of the Hong Kong people. It taught us that it’s still possible to say no, it planted hope like a seed in people’s minds. It still has some consequences that are carrying on after the event itself ended. Frank: Marc, I wanted to change the topic and ask you a bit more about your work. How did you actually choose the pictures that you’re showing in this exhibition? I know you took a lot of pictures, but how did you select these ones from the pile? Marc: It was about finding a common thread through what I saw and experienced in Hong Kong. I wanted to not just be a simple tourist, but to try and somehow get a deeper look at the things around me - I mean, as deep as you can in just two weeks. I find photography has a

In Dialogue

that resulted in their being rendered in a very specific hue. This hue reminded him of a particular quirk of (photo–) printing called, in German, Schmutzfarbe (“dingy colour”). This realization led him to investigate other places in the city where constellations of artificial light, natural light, various surfaces, and colours come together to produce distinct colour situations, all tending towards Schmutzfarbe. For instance, a powerful colour contrast is produced in one picture by juxtaposing an artificially-lit street in the foreground (a dusty yellow) with twilight (a light violet) in the background. These two complementary colours creates a strong intensity in the photograph, causing the viewer’s eye to linger and consider the scene displayed. To give a bit of background to this technique, colour printing uses a concept called “subtractive colour mixing” whereby starting with a white sheet of paper (which reflects all colours), certain colours are taken away in order to achieve the desired result. This process has been optimized in such a way as to only require three “key” colour inks in order to approximate almost every other. These are namely cyan, magenta, and yellow. These three colours are mixed together to attain the result desired. The quirk in this system however lies in the problem that the mixing together of specific complementary colours results in a certain unintended and darkened drab colour, called a Schmutzfarbe. The tendency towards this colour was strengthened, in Latzel’s view, by the comparatively little amount of hours of sunlight in Hong Kong in the summer months. In contrast to the long amount of sunlight hours in northern cities, Hong Kong’s southern geography means that much of the day is spent in artificial light. For the eye trained in the former situation, this allows for many interesting new combinations that can be explored. As he wanted to present in the exhibition a larger

Marc Latzel · Schmutzfarbe

Marc Latzel from the series Schmutzfarbe, 2015 C-prints

very direct link to reality, so the first step was really to find out and discover what was really similar or totally different to my own country. That is the most natural thing for me to do when going to a foreign city. I start to discover a lot of small differences in the way that people think about and do lots of everyday activities. That’s the foundation for the pictures that I took. Afterwards, I try and go back through them and string together the little stories I find, but this is a rather associative editing process, not really one based on a specific narrative or story.

colour-based understanding of the city, Latzel decided on presenting a colletion of 28 photographs taken in several different areas of Hong Kong. The pictures are organized by colour, shifting the viewer’s attention towards specific formal tendencies and away from their individual subject matter. Furthermore, in his groupings, Latzel encourages the viewer to make unforeseen connections between photographs that may be thematically different, but similar in their colour scheme. Lastly, in returning to this concept of Schmutzfarbe as the uncalculated result of a mixing of many colours, it is exactly this principle that occurs again in the mounting of the work. Viewing all the photographs together in a group, one’s eye can mix the individual works together to create an awareness and understanding of the colour schema that the photographer perceives in the city. It is through this emergent property that the viewer has the possibility to capture the uniquely visual and photographic knowledge that Latzel is attempting to present.

Frank: Going back to what Lukka was saying before, I see paintings more as a form of escape from where I am. Staying in Hong Kong, I sometimes feel like I’ve been put in a kind of jail. Painting the cityscape is something I really can’t do well, because I’m totally lacking inspiration. Right now, I’m always painting Zurich, Wengen, Jungfrau, Bern, etc. These places give me a feeling of escape, which is exactly what I’m looking for. Marc: I have exactly the same problem, actually. Taking pictures in Zurich is quite impossible, and it’s not interesting at all.

In Dialogue

Marc Latzel · Schmutzfarbe

Marc Latzel from the series Schmutzfarbe, 2015 C-print (detail)

Frank Tang Kai-yiu painting (detail) from the series Impression Mapping_Zurich, 2014

Frank Tang Kai-yiu painting from the series Floating Cloud, 2015

Frank Tang Kai-yiu I was away for a while Frank: [laughter] Katja: When I was still working as a photography apprentice, my teacher always said that you can never shoot impartial pictures of your personal surroundings, because your private life is too tied up in it. Taking a distance to your surroundings allows you to have a new perspective on your daily environment. Brandon: For me, the word “fictionalization” I think could be a way of summarizing what a lot of you have been talking about. Lukka, I think your works deal the most directly with this topic, what do you think? Lukka: I’ve been working a lot with the topic of science fiction for this exhibition, because I think it’s a good metaphor for the colonialization of our real world. By using this metaphor, I can also avoid having to go into the specifics of the world directly around me, and somehow escape from it just a bit. What I do is take a very big step into outer space, talking about aliens and extraterrestrials. Though I’m escaping into this fictional world, it’s actually a very real thing, because it’s a product of a human mind. This makes it very real, but

In Dialogue

The fragile paintings of the Hong Kong-based artist Frank Tang Kai-yiu provoke one to see scenes of natural beauty – be it in the Swiss Alps, or in downtown Hong Kong – from a different perspective. This challenge to perception belies the subtle political undercurrent to his paintings, all of which represent attempts to lure the viewer into a more meditative and contemplative state than often exists in the busy streets of Hong Kong. This process can be seen in the series entitled Impression Mapping (2014-15). Here, Tang presents a series small -scale landscape paintings along a path leading up the well-known Jungfrau Mountain in Switzerland. The paintings are accompanied by a map of the area, with colour-coded pins corresponding to the locations where the paintings were made. The vignettes are done in a quick but precise style. They guide the viewer’s gaze and understanding of the place drawn, and contain only the lines that the artist deems absolutely necessary, contrasted against a pure white background. Tang’s drawings are traces of perception, which then build a secondary reality for the viewer of the work. The raw, intricate style of the paintings invites the viewer to admire the scenery through the artist’s eyes, producing a sort of intimate co-experiencing of the subject drawn. One experiences especially the rhythm produced in the rendering of quintessentially Swiss alpine scenes in a hand trained in traditional Chinese techniques. The perceptual break between the subject matter and the style of its rendering causes the viewer’s eye to linger, as it notices the discrepancies between these two elements. There is a certain anaesthetic quality in the works that also aids in engaging the viewer’s eye; the 39

Frank Tang Kai-yiu · I was away for a while

paintings are rendered in a minimal style, with most of the silk canvas remaining raw and untouched. Details that are unimportant for the artist are thrown away, not perceived, not recorded. The only lines that remain thus gain a correspondingly large amount of power and significance, leaving one free to contemplate their form and possible meaning. This once again strengthens the sought-after effect of a meditative contemplation of the work. The video installation X:Y (2014) also shows Tang’s meditative style. The artist was inspired by the clear blue skies common in Zurich in the summer, but that are not often seen in Hong Kong, due to the high-rises that crowd the city. Across what he saw as blue colour fields, Tang observed the contrails of airplanes cutting them into geometric forms. The multiple video screens arranged in the space each display a different looping video of this phenomenon in action. As there are numerous videos playing on multiple monitors, one quickly notices chance patterns of contrails moving from one screen to the next, or disappearing into the frame of the monitor. These happenings give the work a certain dimensionality that seems to radiate into the exhibition space itself, giving these flat blue screens a sense of depth. Furthermore, their rigid rectangular frames heighten the sense of abstraction, as they serve to focus the attention on these sheer patches of sky. The cloud motif is an extremely important one for Tang’s oeuvre, a fact that is reflected in two further works presented in the exhibition. For Clouds (2014), Tang has painted a small canvas with the image of overcast clouds, and projected onto it a video loop of the same cloud formation. The result is a deeply engaging and meditative work, stemming mostly from the visual irritation, not immediately perceptible, of static and dynamic images overlapping. This irritation leads the viewer to look at the clouds in a new way, namely as abstract shapes. There is again the feeling of borro-

Frank Tang Kai-yiu · I was away for a while

again actually fictional. The figurines I use are monsters that people created to look like what they imagined aliens would look like. So a very fictional product like a monster or an alien can somehow be a reflection of a very real reflection by a person about these unknown creatures. It reflects their fears and desires, and actually reveals quite a bit about them. Sandra: There’s a certain similarity to what I’m trying to do with my presentation of the Umbrella Movement. This fictionalization gives you the possibility to present a standpoint that you wouldn’t really be able to have if you try and present the work from a so-called objective point of view. That’s why I try and make it very subjective, and in that moment it becomes very fictional. It also strengthens the force of an idea that’s already present in the material. Going back to what Lukka mentioned in the beginning of the conversation about entering onto these two stages, I found it was actually a space into which I could integrate really well. Both of these places already had a sort of artificial character already, so there was actually no problem.

In Dialogue

Frank Tang Kai-yiu from the series X:Y, 2014 Video installation

wing the artist’s eyes, of having a fresh perspective on something so banal it’s often not perceived at all. Brandon: This relationship between fiction and real life becomes then actually quite complicated. In your case Sandra, you enter onto this fictional stage of the Chungking Mansions, or the Umbrella Movement, or in Marc’s case, you need to look at something you see as “other” (i.e. not Zurich) and fictionalize your surroundings in order to see it at all. Marc: I also remember that the first time I went to Hong Kong, I had the sense that everything was loaded with this mythical signification. The more I got to know it however, the more I began to see things more in terms of their pragmatism. Not everything that I found important at the beginning turned out to be as loaded with signification as I thought it would be. It was more my way of perceiving it that determined what kind of reaction I had to the things I saw there. Katja: For me it was actually a very similar experience. I’m also reminded of a similar experience I had when I came to Zurich for the first time. Here too there was a sort of layer of mystification that hung over the city that I had to navigate through.

In Dialogue

The second work featuring a cloud, entitled Clouds 9.28 (2015), is the only work being shown in the exhibition dealing explicitly with Hong Kong after Tang’s residency in Zurich. Here one is confronted with a very different image of a single cloud, one rendered in a dramatic and almost aggressive negative, the artist having painted the background and not the cloud itself. This work was created during the Umbrella Movement protests in Hong Kong, and represents a situation that Tang observed on September 28th, the day that Occupy Central began (hence the title). On that day, the police forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds of protestors gathering around the central government offices. This tear gas slowly dissipated and rose into the air, where it still hung as a cloud. The painting represents the ambiguity of this cloud of tear gas, as it became indistinguishable from the naturally-occurring low cloud formations all around it. This moment of indeterminacy fluctuating between man-made tear gas and natural cloud made a powerful impression on the artist, and formed the inspiration for this work. This situation raises as well the question of the exact nature of the relationship between humans and their surroundings, a question that is relevant to all of the works that Tang presents in this exhibition. For this act of perception so crucial to the artist is also an act of creation, as it is only in the perception of a thing that it begins to exist for the individual subject. The ambivalent cloud hanging between tear gas and water vapour, between the police and nature can be seen as a metaphor for the way in which our perception determines who we are, and in turn how the collection of information that constitutes us (for instance knowing that the cloud is tear gas or not) in turn determines our perception of the world around us.

Frank Tang Kai-yiu · I was away for a while

Short Descriptions of Works Mentioned Sandra Bühler The Zurich-based artist Sandra Bühler presents two cinematic sketches: in Mitch and Alfred (2014), Mitch reports from the no man‘s land, the Chungking Mansions, where his identity gradually slips away in a maze of dreams and reality. In Do you hear the people sing? (2015) an artist enters the theatre of the Umbrella Movement, trying to decipher what has happened in Admiralty and Mong Kok after 38 days of protesting. Lukka Gao Shiyu Take Your Protein Pill and Put Your Helmet On In her exhibition, Lukka Gao Shiyu explores the topic of identity and encounters with foreign cultures through the lens of science fiction. In the two installations Fear and Desire in 1:12 (2015) and Everyone but Hong Kong Sinks (2015), the artist builds fantastical metaphors to tackle the often ugly and challenging questions that arise in situations of cultural exchange. The Swiss Roll, Identity Crisis and the Protesters (not exhibited) In this work, a live projection of a revolving toy Swiss roll is superimposed onto a close-up projection of faces of protesters. Despite the name “Swiss roll,” the cake originated in Europe, but not in Switzerland. The Hong Kong protesters, on the other hand, are also struggling with their identities. The projection itself bears no activist value. The Ribbon, Pet-Raising Game and Political (not exhibited) This work shows a simulated interface of a ribbon-raising game made of emoticons. During the Hong Kong protest, the “yellow ribbon” became the most important

symbol of support, while other groups identified with red or blue ribbons. A mix of green and purple ribbons thus show a combination of stances. Marc Latzel Schmutzfarbe The Zurich-based photographer Marc Latzel shows a photographic mosaic that investigates the distinct tones and colour temperatures his professionally trained eye discovered in Hong Kong. His photographs capture the viewer’s attention with their enigmatic composition, revealing hidden patterns and associations in everyday life.

Alice: Frank actually has to go now, as he has an appointment. I have one more comment though before we wrap it up. I was thinking just now when Marc and Frank were talking about not being able to work in the country that they live in, well maybe Lukka may have lost interest in earth, so she’s now taken the step into outer space!

Frank Tang Kai-yiu I Was Away for a While The exhibition of Hong Kong artist Frank Tang Kai-yiu presents the artist’s response to his artistic residency in Zurich last year. Through the various traces of the cityscape shown in this exhibition, the artist encourages the viewer to reflect on the relationship between humans and nature, a relationship that is no longer very present in the daily life of big cities such as Hong Kong. Impression Mapping Tang depicts the landscape of Zurich, focusing on specific motifs such as trees or mountains. His paintings give prominance to the main subject, leaving the backgrounds often entirely blank. Floating Cloud is part of a new series taking this concept further. X:Y Tang filmes the plain blue sky over Zurich, where planes leave their white lines in the air. The sky seems to lose its colour gradation and dimensions in the video.

In Dialogue

Frank Tang Kai-yiu painting from the series Tree Mapping, 2014

Marc Latzel from the series Schmutzfarbe, 2015 C-print (detail)

Biographies Sandra Bühler (*1986, Switzerland) is a filmmaker, new media artist, and designer. She completed her studies as graphic designer in Zürich, before moving to Berlin after graduation. Studying there both Visual Communication and New Media Art/Experimental Film at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin), she turned towards moving images, as well as audio-visual performances. In 2009 she moved to Japan to study the logics of signs and images on the other side of the world, having won a scholarship to the Musashino Art University in Tokyo. In 2011, she received a scholarship to attend the MA in Film/ Video/Media Art at the California Institute of the Arts (Calarts), which focuses on documentary filmmaking and experimental animation. Since 2013, she has been studying in the MA Fine Arts at the Zurich University of the Arts, and as well working as a research associate in the project Visualization Strategies in Public Spheres, part of the Connecting Space Hong Kong – Zurich. In her works, she investigates the complexity and dynamics of space and human beings, researching narrative systems and nonlinear storytelling. www.sandrabuehler.com Lukka Gao Shiyu (*1988, China) lives and works in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. Gao received her BA in Humanities from the Hong Kong Baptist University, and MA of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She also studied Fine Arts at the University of Leeds, UK. She is an artist engaged with medium such as photography and video installation. Her works have been exhibited in such exhibitions as Fun Likewise at the Zhujiajiao Art and Music Festival in 2013 (Shanghai); 1st Year MA Fine Arts Exhibition at the Chengming Building, Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2013 (Hong Kong); What We See and Make Seen at the Museum Bärengasse in 2014 (Zürich); Jam Tomorrow at the Museum Bärengasse in 2014 (Zürich); Le vent se lève, il ne peut pas entendre (MA Fine Arts Graduation Exhibition) at the Chengming Building, Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014 (Hong Kong); and the exhibition Methods of Art at the Connecting Space Hong Kong in 2015 (Hong Kong). www.shiyugao.com Marc Latzel (*1966, Switzerland) is a professional photographer working on assignments for various

national and international magazines, publications and advertising agencies, as well as on several personal projects. In 2011, he received the Landis & Gyr Studio Grant in London, and in 2015 won the European Architecture Photography of the Year Prize for his work Weird Landscapes. He also lectures and runs workshops at the Centre d’Enseignement Professionnel in Vevey (CEPV), as well as at the Swiss School of Journalism (MAZ). Marc Latzel is a student in the MA Transdiciplinary Studies at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), and research associate in the projects Visualization Strategies in Public Spheres, and Politics of Space, both part of the Connecting Space Hong Kong – Zurich. www.marclatzel.com Frank Tang Kai-yiu (*1988, Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong-based artist whose works look into the performative elements of Chinese painting. Tang received his BA in Visual Arts (Hons) from Hong Kong Baptist University in 2010. In 2014, he was invited for a 5-month residency in Zurich by the Zurich University of the Arts / Connecting Spaces Hong Kong – Zurich. During his studies his works were well recognized, winning the Yau Sang Cheong Chinese painting Award of AVA in 2009, and an AVA Award at the SOLOS Graduation Show in 2010. He has also won the Louis Mak Chinese Painting Award, as well as the Grant Award from the Muses Foundation for Culture and Education Limited in 2012. His artworks have been exhibited in museums, art organizations, and galleries in Germany, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Taiwan. Tang’s works are provocative to human thought, senses and behaviour. As a process-oriented artist, he is confident that the actual experience weighs more than the result itself. Through the medium of video, Tang captures the process of art-making, which he believes to be an experience including senses, thinking process, action and reaction, and unexpected happenings. His works provoke viewers to reflect on their experience of daily life from a fresh perspective. www.tangkaiyiu.com Alice Wong (*1988, Hong Kong) is curator of the Hong Kong artists, and has been working as an arts administrator since graduating from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where she majored in Language and Communication. Wong has worked for

such art organizations and companies as PIP Theatre (former Theatre Ensemble), ABA Productions, and City Contemporary Dance Company. She has worked as a Gallery Executive at Osage Gallery, where she managed a number of visual arts exhibitions, and performing arts projects. Wong is also the Assistant Producer of Hong Kong Arts Festival’s programmes, including June Lovers and Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series in 2012; producer of LCSD Cultural Presentations: Brian Eno’s Music For Airports – New AudioVisual Counterpoint; Silent Film New Music: Chaplin & Philip Glass; Electric Company: An Orchestra of Laptops; and Wind Mill Grass Theatre’s Super Mama Market for the International Arts Carnival in 2015. She joined soundpocket as Manager (Curatorial Affairs) in 2011, and is also a co-curator of Around Sound Art Festival and Retreat 2013; and Around Sound Art Festival and Retreat 2014 (artist residency and retreat camp in Amino, Kyoto). She is currently a Masters student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong majoring in Values Education. Katja Gläss (*1979, Germany) is curator of the Zurich artists, and completed her studies in Photography and Media (Dipl.Des.) at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld, Germany, before completing her MA in Transdisciplinary Studies at the Zurich University of the Arts. For over ten years, she has worked as freelance photographer in advertising in both Frankfurt am Main and Zurich, having also worked as gallery assistant at Galerie Marlene Frei, Zurich, and Kleinschmidt Fine Photographs in Wiesbaden, and as a freelance photo editor. In her freelance works, which have been shown in various group exhibitions, she investigates conceptual- and documentary-based strategies in contemporary photography. She was part of the exhibition team of the group show prepositions at the Villa Sondheimer in Frankfurt am Main in 2007, and the exhibition project Jewish in Today’s Germany at the University of Bielefeld between 2005-08. Since 2013, she has worked as a research associate in both the MA in Transdisciplinary Studies and Department of Cultural Analysis at the Zurich University of the Arts, where she was, among other responsibilities, responsible for organizing the ZHdK Lectures on Global Culture. Katja Gläss has also worked on several Connecting Spaces-related exhibitions at the Museum Bären-

gasse and Toni-Areal Zurich, and is a member of the research project entitled Slow Spicy Curatorial Practices at the Zurich University of the Arts. Brandon Farnsworth (*1991, Canada) is the author of the booklet texts, and a doctoral candidate at the Zurich University of the Arts in cooperation with the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. He completed his BA in Classical Music in 2013 at the Zurich University of the Arts, before graduating his MA in Transdiciplinary Studies in 2015 at the same institution. His work involves researching applications of curatorial thought in the field of contemporary music. As a graduate from the MA in Transdisciplinary Studies, he has also become involved in the Connecting Space Hong Kong – Zurich, having published, in collaboration with two other students, a book about the Hong Kong arts scene, entitled Why Hong Kong (2014).

Frank Tang Kai-yiu painting (detail) from the series Impression Mapping_Wengen, 2014

Lukka Gao Shiyu The Ribbon, Pet-Raising Game and Political Standpoint, 2014, exhibition view

Sandra B端hler Mitch and Alfred, 2014 Experimental film, 20min (video still)