2P Contemporary Art Gallery Until May 2

This latest group exhibition trots on the themes of uncertainty, fragility and chance based on a re-contextualisation of the Heideggerian term Gelassenheit. Works by the three Hong Kong artists – Kwan Sheung-chi, Tang Kwok-hin and Morgan Wong – are strategically placed across the gallery, each left to chronicle a chapter within their own artistic practice as well as to question the inherent temporality existing between space and objects that navigate as the central flow of the exhibition.

One of the highlights in the show, Kwan’s Drinking a glass of hot chocolate with a fork (2011), records the artist’s repeated attempts in indulging his favourite childhood drink with the less-than-efficient utensil, as a way to consciously prolong the associated moments of happiness. The visual is at first seemingly repetitive and controlled – however, upon a closer look, the continuous, almost obsessive act cleverly leads to a randomised outcome influencing the duration of the video and forsaking the artist’s own control in the event.

Tang’s newest site-specific work Collector (2012), an installation loosely compiled of various abandoned objects found around the neighbourhood, also proves to be a refreshing attempt for the artist in moving away from his usual process. Contrasted with the clear-cut object imagery in Collector is video artist Wong’s eerily pristine Metro Series (2011-2012). Composed of seven framed white panels, each revealing only a faint patch of a newspaper clipping photo, the execution of the work not only traverses past the artist’s previous digital practice but also carefully criss-crosses between maintaining a tranquil aesthetic above and the subtle political reference beneath.

Piper Koh