姚詩韻 (1976年, 新加坡) 現為全職藝術家並經營INSTINC獨立藝術空間。姚氐於1998 年於新加坡國立大學商業管理（市場行銷）取得大學學位，並於新加坡拉薩爾藝術學院取得傳播設計文憑，2002年在舊金山藝術學院獲得學士學位。 姚氐重新詮釋水墨領域, 並不斷實驗將當代媒材（如新媒體和表演藝術）融入傳統創作形式。她亦榮獲多個獎項, 包括2007年「大華銀行年度藝術大賞」的榮譽証書、「2012 Sovereign 傑出亞洲藝術獎」最佳人氣獎。她曾被新加坡美術館委託製作藝術品，作品亦被新加玻及海外藏家收藏。她的第一本個人論著《Inkpulse: The Art of Yeo Shih Yun》於2017年出版，當中闡述其對抽象表現主義的追求及從 2000 至 2017 年的創作歷程。姚氐現於新加坡生活和工作。
Art Exhibition: In the Mood of Serenity
Artists: Hong Kong - Tap CHAN, Lio CHEUNG, NG Po Lin Noelle. Elaine WONG, Ivy YUEN Singapore - CHANG Hui Fang, Urich LAU, Justin LEE CK, LIU XuanQi, YEO Shih Yun
Curated by Hilda Chan
Opening reception: Thursday, 5 July 2018, 6-9 pm Curator-led tour: 7 July 2018, 3-4 pm
Date: 5-8 July 2018 Hours: 12noon – 8pm Venue: Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre Address: 7A Kennedy Road, Central, Hong Kong
“In the Mood of Serenity”, features artworks of 10 Hong Kong and Singapore based artists.
This exhibition is the extension of the 2016 exhibition “From Inside of the Outside” happened at INSTINC in Singapore. This time a rich collection of works with a variety of medium and approaches are included; The Hong Kong and Singapore based artists demonstrate a unique blend of culture, values and aesthetic of the urban landscapes, such as traditional and contemporary; nostalgic and banal; heritage and legacy; limelight and alienation. These outer experiences refines ones speculation of self and identity.
Such as the works of Tap CHAN, LIO Cheung, Noelle NG and Elaine WONG explore experiences of intimacy and aloofness of urban culture; Urich LAU, Justin LEE CK and YEO Shih Yun display in their works the history and architectural space of contemporary Singapore society; Ivy YUEN’s drawings is a an on-going process of creating and erasing of marks and the body trace; CHANG Hui Fang, LIU XuanQi, YEO Shih Yun expand the possibilities of contemporary Chinese ink, combing experimental techniques and compositions into pictorial form of personal expression.
The project is co-organised by Altermodernists and INSTINC.
For press enquiries please contact Ms. Wong at elaine.altermodernist@gmail.com, +852 9675 2021.
==================
About the artists
Hong Kong
Tap CHAN (1981, Hong Kong）received an M.A. in Visual Arts from the Hong Kong Baptist University in 2014 and a B.A fine art from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2011. Her works mostly appear in the form of installations, videos and sculptures. She is interested in exploring the idea of liminality that is embedded in daily life, where the boundaries between fiction and reality are often blurred, like the undefined psychic and emotional ruptures experienced during bouts of insomnia. To construct a narrative of the subterranean mind that rumbles beneath the facade of modern existence. She was funded by Hong Kong Arts Development Council cultural exchange project in 2017 for her solo exhibition "A Soft Note" (INSTINC, Singapore, 2017) and has participated in Hong Kong Sculpture Biennial 2016; a solo intervention “444”; group exhibition include "Black Bile" (100ft Park, Hong Kong, 2016) and group exhibition “Home Away from Home” (Graft Art, Vermont, USA, 2015). CHAN currently lives and works in Hong Kong.
Lio CHEUNG (1979, Hong Kong) is an independent artist based in Hong Kong, with a background in Fine Art. She received a BAFA of Fine Art at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2013, and a BETC Higher Fashion Diploma of Fashion Design at the University of Salford in 2000. CHEUNG works full time as an artist and has participated in a number of solo exhibitions and performances in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, including “There is no place, like home” (INSTINC SOHO, Singapore, 2017), “Here I Stand” (G Art Gallery, Malaysia, 2016). CHEUNG draws her inspiration from keen observations of nature, culture and daily interactions with people around her. She weaves different elements in her works and incorporates different materials and medium into inanimate forms, and encourage interaction with audiences. CHEUNG currently lives and works in Hong Kong.
Noelle NG (b. 1970s, Hong Kong) received a Master of Arts in Fine Arts degree from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2017 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2014. She studied fashion design in England, and has worked in the fashion design industry for many years. To NG art is a medium to express feeling and understand oneself and the society. She founded TongLau Space in 2018, it is an art space devotes to promote local contemporary art and facilitate overseas artists exchange. NG currently lives and works in Hong Kong.
Elaine WONG (b. Hong Kong) currently pursuing her MFA at School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong; she received her BA (Fine Art) degree from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University in 2014. She was awarded the scholarship from Hong Kong Art Centre to attend the Culture, Graphic Design and Fine Arts program in New York School of Visual Arts in 2013, with a background in painting. WONG’s work is characterised by the transformation of observed social and related human behavioral phenomena, often enhanced with audience participation. WONG regards her work as a presentation of the response to her experience in the society through moving images, installations, and media projects. WONG currently lives and works in Hong Kong.
Ivy YUEN (b. Hong Kong) completed a Master in Art in Fine Art at Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2018. She received a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art), major in Painting at Hong Kong Art School in 2014 (co-programmed with RMIT), and a Bachelor degree at Social Sciences in China Economics at Hong Kong Baptist University at 2000. Her art practice is research based through data-mining from historical and statistic records. Her works was exhibited in solo exhibition "When Smoke Rises" (am space, Hong Kong, 2015), and "From the Outside of the Inside", an artists-curated group exhibition in which awarded the Pure Art Foundation Grant in 2017; the exhibition was also shown at INSTINC in Singapore at 2016. YUEN currently lives and works in Hong Kong. Singapore
CHANG Hui Fang (1981, Tainan) graduated with a MA at Art Museum and Gallery Studies in Newcastle University, UK in 2009. She mainly works in Chinese ink, combining with pencil sketching on paper for her early works made in Taiwan. CHANG is passionate about incorporating realism into abstraction; her current works often applies charcoal powder and gold leaf, and employs appropriation as a method. CHANG won the 1st prize of Tainan Fine Art Exhibition in 2001. Her works has been exhibited in ION art gallery, Singapore; Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong; Artspace 222, Singapore; Objectifs, Singapore and Young Art Taipei, Taiwan. CHANG currently lives and works in Singapore.
Justin LEE (1963, Singapore) is a visual artist and designer. LEE graduated from Goldsmith London College of Arts, with a Master in Fine Arts, and he was trained at the Tyler Print Institute in New York (STPI) from 2000-2002. He has participated in a number of exhibitions in Singapore and overseas, and have joined artist-in-residence programmes in Japan, such as Studio Kura (Fukuoka, 2012 and 2014); Itoshima Art Farm (Fukuoka, 2014) and Youkobo Art Space (Tokyo, 2013). LEE’s works bring a different perspective of the Singapore’s society, blending the eastern and western culture; he is also keen on recording everyday lifestyle into visual art based on his own cultural background. LEE currently lives and works in Singapore.
LIU XuanQi (1977, China) graduated from Press Printing and Institute of Art and Design University of Shanghai for Science and Technology in 1999. With a background as a graphic designer, LIU explores elements from traditional Chinese ink paintings, icons and imagery from eastern cultures and fuses with contemporary design, merging the east and west. He adopts a unique artistic expression by exploring art with his personal style, merging traditional media and design element of eastern aesthetic with the influence of the west. LIU’s works has been widely exhibited in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States. He was awarded the “UOB Painting of the Year Platinum Award” by United Oversea Bank in 2012. LIU currently lives and works in Singapore.
Urich LAU (1975, Singapore) is a visual artist, independent curator and art educator based in Singapore. He graduated with a Master of Fine Art from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2004. Working in video art and photography, he has presented works across Asia, Europe, Central Asia, Australasia and North America. He is currently a lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts, and one of the founding member of INTER–MISSION art collective; he is also a member of The Artists Village, Instinctive (INSTINC Art Space), and resident artist at Goodman Arts Centre in Singapore. LAU currently lives and works in Singapore.
YEO Shih Yun (1976, Singapore) graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1998 with a Bachelor degree in Business Administration. YEO joined LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts and completed a Diploma in Communication Design prior to the pursue of a Post Baccalaureate Programme in painting at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2002. She won the “Highly Commended” title in the UOB Singapore Painting of the Year Competition in 1999; she was the finalist for the “Sovereign Asian Art Prize” in 2012, and won the “People’s Choice Award”. She has held solo exhibitions in Singapore, Japan and Germany, and has exhibited in group exhibitions international. Her works have included in public and private art collections in Singapore and overseas, and has commissioned by the Singapore Art Museums. YEO is the Founder of the independent art space “INSTINC”, she currently lives and works in Singapore.
About the Curator
Hilda CHAN is a Hong Kong based curator, artist and cultural practitioner who lives and works in Hong Kong. She is the recipient of the Local Arts Administration Scholarships 2017 of HKADC, and currently enrolled at the Master of Social Sciences program in Sociology at The University of Hong Kong; She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2006. CHAN aims to foster collaborations across disciplines and media, she is interested in topics related to self and identities, cross-cultural and media representations in relation to personal experiences and memories. Curated projects including “How REAL is real”; artist book “Sojourn with Stranger” was the winning project of mur nomade’s “Open Call for Young Curators” at 2016. CHAN has been involved with a number of art spaces; she currently manages a contemporary art gallery promoting Hong Kong artists.
About the organisers
Altermodernist Believed in art is for everyone, Altermodernists was founded to connect artists and audience. Through providing multimedia contents on local artists and art-spaces on its digital platform, and organising cultural events in various districts, Altermodernists aims to increase the public's understanding of art, and introduces ways to appreciate art. It is Altermodernists’ mission to encourage the public to know more about art and artists in Hong Kong, to participate in artistic exchange; and to increase the support to local art community.
INSTINC Established in 2004, INSTINC is an artist-run institution that promotes a new language of art. Following the tradition of painting, INSTINC has pushed the paradigm to realize a wide array of art forms, including but not limited to installation, performance and video art. One of INSTINC's key mission is to encourage collaboration, cultural exchange and sharing of ideas in contemporary art with local as well as international artists. Therefore in 2009, INSTINC's international artist residency program is launched. Through exhibitions, art workshops, artists' talks & collaborations, INSTINC aims to establish an exciting platform where artists and public can engage with contemporary art and critical discourses. To further promote the contemporary art scene in Singapore, in 2011, INSTINC spearheads its inaugural “Squares Invasion” Painting Competition in search of artists in the forefront of contemporary painting.
