Pearl Lam HK Soho: Alan Kwan and Kenny Wong “Interstitial”

Hong Kong, July 22 – September 15, 2016, http://www.pearllam.com/

If the exhibitions at Karin Weber and K11 Chi Art Space represented the joyful side of Hong Kong’s young artists, then “Interstitial” represented the existential angst-laden side. Instead of everyday leisure and fun, existential questions and personal fears came to the fore. The use of technology underscored the alienating tendencies. The common denominator with the prior group is a disinterest in social topics or critical approaches. Instead of searching for the joy within the everyday, Kwan and Wong stood in for the nerds which prefer to hide within their own secluded space, expressing their innermost yet everyday fears.

Right at the door, one was welcomed by an animated suicide note by Kwan, listing the names of his ex-girlfriends flashed on the screen to frantic sped up elevator muzak. As the suicide did not succeed or did not take place, there were further works by Kwan upstairs, giving insight into the depths and pains of his psyche: A virtual 3D model of a haunted-house-like corridor where his father used to lock him out when he disobeyed and a semi-fictional flickering grimy short film narrating the anxieties coming from his stuttering speech impediment.

Wong’s contribution to the exhibition consisted mainly of mobile sculptures with LED displays that were mechanically moved around. The images on the displays were of body parts and people. They seemed to be at the mercy of the metal tubes and computer algorithms that moved them around. The statement talked about the intimacy and indefinite nature of human relationships. It seemed as if the machines that Wong produced were a way of getting hold of these fleeting sights and touches, which nevertheless eluded being controlled. What remained was a tension of different orders that could not be united: the mechanical and the biological, the dead and the living.

As the title suggested, both Wong and Kwan indeed explored the space in between. The decision to do so seemed to be one made out of necessity of their personal experience, out of fear and of questioning their very existence as human beings.