Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme IV: Unknown ─ Works by Wai-kit Lam
Exhibition Introduction | Introduction of Artist | Artist's Statement | Artworks | Videos | Exhibition Photos | Invitation Card

Electronic and digital products and media including kinescope television, plasma screen, digital camera, MP3...... have found their way into millions of households, innovated the consumption modes as well as shocking the aesthetic and living styles. High-speed scientific and technological progress brings living conveniences, fun and engulfs people in the torrents of the macro environment, forcing people to learn and use new technological products and new trends before inquiring and understanding the old ones. When we have easy access to digital cameras and handheld video camera recorders that are compact, easy to operate and capable of providing inexpensive virtual storage space, and mobile phones that support high resolution recording, we get used to random and impromptu recording and take ubiquitous digital video and audio play for granted.

Artists also took firm hold of the new force in the torrents and use new technologies and multi media for art creation to enhance the communication effect and keep asking people concerning different topics. Although images based on practical life have been edited and modified significantly by the artists, the familiar images still leave passable gaps for the viewers to enter “without asking” the video and audio recording atmosphere created by the artists. The viewers may perhaps be puzzled about the ideas, but the seemingly familiar images and sounds and onsite participation basically remove puzzle and resistance and achieve soft landing of the artists’ ideas, inducing profound thinking among the viewers. The viewers’ “not asking” and the artists’ “asking” find harmonious integration in the expressional mode of digital media.

Wai-kit Lam underwent creation experience with different media in her painting, photography and video art. It is the characteristics of the video art which contains images, sound and installation that make Wai-kit Lam opt to create with this media. For Wai-kit Lam, life is full of perplexing fragments, and the uncertainties of the unknown environment often upset her, so she keeps trying and exploring in her works and interacting with the viewers in the known and unknown. Wai-kit Lam's photography and videos often present her self portrait merged in different living environments in an attempt to identify herself. However, the “self” presented in the works is just an expression medium and a universal role. In the exhibition of the “Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme”, Wai-kit Lam selects to mix different human images with life space, buildings, household environment, pedestrians’ footsteps and personal steps and play them synchronously on three screens facing each other. Her videos do not have any script, narration or dialogue. The characters in the works, whether motionless or moving in different time, space and sound effects, show some extent of uncertainty. The sounds in life ─ traffic sound, footstep, heartbeat, clock sound...... urge the viewers to search for role situations in the substitute video images.

Here we would like to extend sincere thanks to Hong Kong Film Archive and The Link Management Limited for their assistance and support in bringing art into communities, in exhibiting “Unknown ─ Works by Wai-kit Lam” as part of the “Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme” in Hong Kong Film Archive and Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre, and in organising the “Meet-the-Artist” lecture and guided tours for the public. We hope the public can have better understanding of artist's works through these exhibitions and activities.

Exhibition Venues and Dates
Date: 16.6 – 26.7.2009
Time: 10:00am – 8:00pm daily (Closed on Thursdays)
Venue: Exhibition Hall, Hong Kong Film Archive
Address: 50 Lei King Road, Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong
Free admission

Date: 7 – 23.8.2009
Time: 9:00am – 9:00pm daily
Venue: 6/F, Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre
Address: 23 Yuk Wah Street, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon
Free admission

Education and Extension Activities
1) Guided Tour
Free guided tours for groups/ schools will be available.

2) Meet the Artist ─ Wai-kit Lam (in Cantonese)

Please call the Community Art Team at 3101 2712 / 3101 2713 for enquiries and reservation.