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Hong Kong's Participation in the 51 st Venice Biennale – A Journey to the West over a Cup of Tea
19/5/2005

Local artists anothermountainman and Chan Yuk-keung cordially invite you to have a cup of tea at their exhibition in the 51 st Venice Biennale in this June. This is the third time for the Hong Kong visual artists to exhibit their works in this international event under the banner of “ Hong Kong , China ”.

Presented by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (ADC), the theme of this year's exhibition is “investigation of a journey to the west by micro + polo”. Curated by Ms Sabrina M Y Fung, the exhibition is a marvellous and imaginative investigation of travel west in the computer age by anothermountainman (micro) and Mr Chan Yuk-keung (polo).

The work of anothermountainman is a Hong Kong-style teahouse. With the walls covered by red-white-blue plastic fabric, the teahouse is decorated with Chinese window frames. It is a statement on the importance of face-to-face communication in society, which is becoming a lost art in the micro-technological age. It also reflects the transitory and unsettled nature of Hong Kong . Re-establishing human contact over a cup of tea can help society resolve issues and regain its focus.

Contrary to the bright red-white-blue colour, the work of Chan Yuk-keung is the muted tones of natural wood. His cityscape installation, in the shape of Venice , reveals his experiences as a traveller both metaphysically and psychologically. The cityscape is elevated and inverted to provide the viewer a thorough investigation into an imaginary, reinvented world.

The opening of the exhibition will be held on 10 June in Venice , with the participation of Dr Peter K K Wong, Vice-Chairman of the ADC and Council Members. Dr Wong is also the Deputy Commissioner of this year's exhibition. During the opening ceremony, besides the introduction of the work, renowned local dancer cum choreographer Ms Mui Cheuk-yin in collaboration with violinist Kung Chi-shing will stage a performance and it will be followed by a talk on Hong Kong culture by Prof Leung Ping-kwan.

The Venice Biennale, a world-renowned visual arts exhibition, was first held in 1895. The exhibition attracts participants from around 50 cities and countries. The Hong Kong exhibition in 2003 had attracted more than 50,000 audience. This year, the exhibition will be held from 12 June to 6 November in Venice .