ArtLab Open

From August to September 2018, artist and curator Enoch Cheng has been working with Hong Kong artists from different disciplines at the experimental platform ArtLab, at Goethe-Institut Hongkong. Over these two months the artists have explored ideas related to general themes of migration and metamorphosis, through research and testing in different media. Instead of focusing on the final outcome, the artists have devised a process in which they establish a dialogue with their individual selves, as well as as a collective. Eliza Li Pui Yan (Cantonese opera) compares various stories of women related to migration from the Cantonese opera classics; Noisy Miner (sound) relates sounds to different journeys of listening; Sim-fong Lai (Dramaturgy) draws networks from among the other artists, as well as studying cases of foreign domestic workers and the nature of domesticity.

This Artlab does not concentrate on a fixed product or result; it encourages an ongoing exploration of new modes of inquiry to enable the pursuit of ideas. This continuous process of articulating and testing of thought is at the heart of this Artlab, essentially questioning the balance between artistic production and experimentation in relation to the contributed space and time over the two-month period. As the Artlab reaches its conclusion, it opens up the accumulated process to the public and professionals to observe and participate. On 21st September, Eliza Li Pui Yan will be joined by other artists to discuss her ongoing research project. On 27th September, Noisy Miner and a Cantonese musician will demonstrate some of their new directions of practice, and take part in a conversation together moderated by Sim-fong Lai and Enoch Cheng.