A project proposal for the Hong kong Art Biennial Exhibition 2005 which was not accept
Early summer in 2005 I was informally invited to be one of the jurors for the Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition but obviously I did not make it. However, this is an inspiration. If I were the juror, I would address in the opening and have my comments displayed in the gallery. I contemplate that how is the relationship between openness, fairness, taste and artistic value in a competition in which game rules have to be stressed. Whereas curators are taken over by jurors, can rules substitute art?
Finally, my proposal for this Biennial is my reverse reproduction of its Terms and Conditions, with new arrangement of paragraphs, sentences and punctuations. Un/fortunately the official use of English in Hong Kong has been regarded as her short cut to the international platform but it ends up nobody can understand this text but everybody would guess it as in an unfamiliar European, Romanized Asian or Pacific language. Indeed it is a common superstition that only the ghost reads reversely.
It is my contribution not only as an artist who produces the speech performance and the inscription in wood; but also as a “juror” with my foreword to the exhibition.
It was finally produced and first presented as a performance/ installation at John Batten Gallery in April 2006. The installation is exhibited again at 1a Space in August 2006.
Click here for installation views
Download here for an pdf version of HKABE05
Download Quicktime movie clip of HKABE05 performance