Contemporary Art from Hong Kong
Since 2012 the Asia Society Hong Kong Center has resided at the former Explosives Magazine of the old Victoria Barracks in Admiralty. The heritage site includes four restored and adapted British military buildings, including a specially designed contemporary art gallery, presentation spaces and offices. The raised walkway that provides access between these structures is the perfect place of respite, providing stunning outdoor views of the harbour and accentuating the natural beauty of the mountain surrounds.
The Asia Society’s exhibition Breathing Space: Contemporary Art from Hong Kong was on display during Art Basel Hong Kong, which draws a large number of visitors from the art world internationally. The exhibition was not to be missed for its exceptional presentation of local artists work at this significant cultural site.
Showcasing two works each by eleven local emerging to mid-career artists, the exhibition was conceptualised as a two-part journey represented by the dichotomy between the sites unique indoor and outdoor spaces. This dialogue aimed to allow the audience to ‘navigate life in Hong Kong through art’.1 Inside the Asia Society’s Chantal Miller Gallery, the works displayed explore the ‘various pressures that restrict our breathing space in the city’. Key themes included urban experience, current affairs, or shared and personal history. Outside, spanning the open areas of the site, was a series of new commissions, completed this year, positioned to enable us to pause, reflect and consider our surroundings. This helped to elaborate the key themes through references to the site’s colonial and military history, in addition to prompting us to directly interact with the site physically.
While there was no set path that determined our way through the show, Adrian Wong’s site-specific