When we asked to visit his studio, conceptual artist Tozer Pak Sheung-chuen suggested we convene in the Asia Art
Archive (AAA), where he made his piece for the LV exhibition. He was AAA’s 2008 local artist-in-residence, and it seemed like the archive was the perfect location to talk about his recent work. There was a slight difficulty, however, in making arrangements to meet: the Chinese University fine arts and theology graduate was about to fly to Italy to install his show at the Hong Kong Pavilion for the 53rd Venice Biennale. He is Hong Kong’s sole representative in Venice. Suffice to say, Pak is having a huge year, one that is propelling his career to greater heights. We met Pak, on the day he was boarding a plane for Venice, to discuss his recent work.

“Imagination plus an action allows you to create a new world,” says Pak. He details one of his projects, New York Public Library Project (NYPLP) 5: Measuring the Size of the Sea Storing in a Library, a work in which he explores the question, “How vast is the ocean hidden within the library?” To answer the question, he looked at the cover of every book in the NYPL collection, selecting books picturing the sea for his project, and creating a new horizon by lining up all the book covers.

Pak’s art practice goals are simpler than his complex approach to art making. “Objects are in the same situation as me,” he says. “They have no lesser or greater value than me. We are in the same space. When I work, it’s like making a 3-D action painting. I want to make it perfect for the audience.” It seems, in 2009, perfection could be within his grasp.

The artists:
Tozer Pak Sheung-chuen
Lee Kit
Doris Wong
Leung Chi-wo
Adrian Wong
Nadim Abbas
Tsang Kin-wah