Searching for Lost Souls - Ngai Wing Lam

 

2022.08.03 - 2022.09.04

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Foreword

 

We exist in a world full of conflict. Between humans there will always be this undercurrent of tension – it is the very essence of what makes us truly human. In this solo exhibition of Ant Ngai’s most recent works, the artist delves deeper into the sense of the unknown – do we really love each other? Do you really know what the other person thinks? This pervasive sense of conflict – that fight between what we see and what we think – is a potent, silent war that rages internally.

 

The artist is insistent that there is never an outright goodbye – because every ending is the most certain indicator that the next storyline of tension is about to start. This group of new paintings is a search for this elusive starting point. The intentional placement of characters in very recognisable Hong Kong locations – such as Tai Hang Tung near the Kowloon Tong district, and the Pak Tin Estate in Shek Kip Mei – is the artist’s way of trying to find bearings in this otherwise ever-changing world.

 

Do we ever know what we are looking for? Are the fish really lost? Is the idealised man inevitably directionless and empty? The main characters in this exhibition are not depicted in human form; yet they do represent a manifestation of all that we stand to lose, if people let go of what is precious.

 

The greatest crime is to be careless.

 

We invite you to exert some mental strength.

 

Words by:Joyce Ng