Becoming of Places

In the coming December, SC Gallery will present “Becoming of Places”, a group exhibition featuring the works of Tsang Chui Mei, Hui Chung Ling, Genie and Ng Yin Lam, Ann. The three artists share a material-centred art practice and engage with the physicality of their medium: whether through accumulation and erosion of pigment, or by firing clay to become ceramics, they transform the fluctuation of time and inner sentiment into tangible physical marks and embodied space, constructing a visual landscape where fantasy and reality coexist.  “Becoming of Places” will open on 20th December and run till next year on 17th January.

Tsang Chui Mei’s works, while taking the form of landscapes, do not depict actual scenery. Instead, the artist portrays the psychological projections of the human mind when in face with nature. In this exhibition, Tsang employs a high-staturated and contrasting colour palette, intensifying an otherworldly atmosphere. With multi-point perspective, she brings the fragmented colour fields onto one sharing plane. Tsang carries on her inquiry on automatic mark-making through layering paints and crackle paste upon each other, while sanding down the surface to reveal the underlying compression of colours. The traces of constant layering and erasure resemble the textures of fissured rocks and mountains, residing within the boundless scene.

Hui Chung-Ling, Genie utilises ceramic and paper as her media. Drawing inspiration from her surroundings and imagination of life, Hui has created wall-mounted ceramic sculptures. By combining ink paintings on paper of imaginary creatures and motifs, she creates a body of mixed-media works with mystical narratives. In her latest works, Hui extends the dimensions of her creations. She paints imagery of everyday objects and creatures, and houses them in fictional spaces formed by ceramics. As the materials and pictures collide, Hui constructs a realm in which both her fantasy and reality lives. 

Ng Yin Lam, Ann’s practice roots from her personal experiences and perception of daily lives. Her works often present elements of landscape and organic imagery. Ng uses plant-based and mineral pigments, harnessing natural materials to achieve coarse textural surfaces and fluid pictorial forms. Her earlier painting featured in the show adopts a primary colour palette, with swirling gestural lineworks at the center of the composition. Sealed with glaze, the works capture precious moments from an era of life. In her recent works, Ng lends into the use of less saturated earthy tones. Through accumulating and eroding organic pigments, she builds pictorial surfaces with historical warmth, conveying the gradual sedimentation of time and memory.