5.10.2001 - 21.10.2001
Gallery hours : 12:00 noon – 7:00 pm (Closed on Mon, Tue & public holidays)
Opening : 6:00 – 8:00pm, Friday, 5 October 2001
Gallery talk : 3:00 – 5:00pm, Saturtday, 20 October 2001 (in Cantonese)

Moderator : Debbie Lo

Para/Site Art Space, 2 Po Yan Street (224 Hollywood Road), Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Para/Site Art Space is pleased to present a thematic exhibition Mission/ Vision - an artistic dialogue with religion featuring new work by Tozer PAK Sheung-chuen, KO Man-ho, Evelyna Yee-woo LIANG and CHAN Kai-yin, re-considering a major topic in the world history of art that, however, is rare in local art discourse in this fast-paced economic society.

"Religious art dead?"

From the medieval cathedrals, paintings and sculptures of Renaissance to the Dunhuang grottos and mural paintings in various Chinese tombs and temples, religion had been a most generous patron of art. Religious subject matters have always been legitimate as accomplished in the myriad of masterpieces in the history of art.

Although, we have an impression of religious art as cultural artifacts of a glorious past, why does it seem so detached from contemporary art? Would it be that most artists nowadays are faithless? Or, is there lack of contemporary vocabulary for expressing religious ideas in art besides conventional symbolism.

All four participating artists in Mission/ Vision are either Christians or Buddhists. As contemporary artists, they employ diverse artistic languages. Nevertheless, their share of religious experience provides a common platform to view their work and to investigate the comtemporaneity of "religious art".

This exhibition is curated by Anthony Leung and Chan Kai-yin, and is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. A catalogue including essays by curators, artist statements and biographies will be published for the exhibition.

Inquiry : 25359111, 94820472 (KY Chan), 25174620 (Jeff Leung).

Para/Site Art Space is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Centre
About the artists:

Tozer PAK Sheung-chuen
Born in 1977 in Fujian, China, Pak immigrated to Hong Kong in1984. In 1991, he entered into a Christian secondary school and became a Christian in the next year. Since then, his life has changed. In 1996, he started painting to record his life. In 1998, he entered the Chinese University of Hong Kong to study fine arts and continued his artistic approach. He participated in the Mini-Solo series presented by Para/Site in 2000.

Tozer PAK Sheung-chuen

Angel

Ink on canvas, 2000


KO Man-ho
Born in Hong Kong in the 70s, Ko is an illustrator for textbooks. Studied biology in the university, however, his interests fall on the study of the spiritual being. He has published a comic book as to answer repeated questions in life but has no previous exhibition.

Evelyna Yee-woo LIANG
Graduated from the University of British Columbia in Canada majoring in history of oriental arts and modern art, Kan is an artist with strong awareness of her identity as "woman painter". Also as an organizer of community arts activities, she is concerned with the minority in the society and has initiated projects such as "Art in Hospital". She joint in Para/Site as a board member in 2000.

CHAN Kai-yin

First Sermon

Installation painting, 1997


CHAN Kai-yin
Born in Hong Kong in 1964, Chan graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a BA in graphic design. He is a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Designers and works as both an illustrator and a fine artist. Since 1990, he has exhibited his work in form of painting and installation. Taking "Sermon Series" as a recurrent theme in recent years, he has been exploring the possibilities to renovate the representation of Buddhist thoughts in art. He also contributes work of comics and art criticism to magazines such as Next Magazine, Xpression and PS.