DAN TSE AND EUGENE LEUNG
TASTE FROM THE SCREEN
DAN TSE AND EUGENE LEUNG, TWO HONG KONG-ERS WHO RESIDE IN SYDNEY, WERE STUCK IN PANDEMIC BOREDOM DURING LOCKDOWN. WHILE CHATTING ABOUT LIFE WITH THEIR FRIEND ICE CHEUNG IN LONDON, THE THREE CREATORS REALISED THAT HONG KONG INSTANT FOOD IS WHAT RESONATES MOST AMONG THEM. POSING IN FRONT OF HER WEBCAM, ICE REACHES OUT TO DAN AND EUGENE; AND TOGETHER, THEY TRANSFORM POPULAR LOCAL SNACKS INTO BIZARRE YET PERSONAL ARTIFACTS AND WARPED DIGITAL DREAMSCAPES THAT REMIND THEM OF HOME.
IP WAI LUNG
DOMESTIC SINGULARITY
SHOT DURING QUARANTINE, THE PHOTO SERIES PRESENTS A VOYEURISTIC PERSPECTIVE OF THE ARTISTS’ HONG KONG HOME. BY MANIPULATING LIGHTING AND MOVING FURNITURE AND OBJECTS AROUND, IP WAI LUNG CREATED MULTIPLE EERIE YET SUBLIME SETTINGS FOR HIS CAMERA. THE COLDNESS OF METALS, DARKNESS OF SHADOWS, AND SPARSENESS OF SPACE CONVEY A SENSE OF ISOLATION AND DISCOMFORT. THIS UNEASINESS CONTRADICTS OUR IDEA OF “HOME” AS A WARM AND INTIMATE SPACE, ALLUDING TO IP’S EXPERIENCES OF DISPLACEMENT FROM BEING QUEER IN HONG KONG.
LAI LON HIN
RED SWORDTAIL
SET IN HONG KONG, THIS FASHION PHOTOSTORY IS AS PERPLEXING AND OPEN-ENDED AS THE VERY CITY IT DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM. INSTEAD OF THE CITY'S FAMILIAR URBAN SCENERY, LAI LON HIN CHOOSES A LOCAL VILLAGE FOR HIS BACKDROP. THE STRANGE AND SOMETIMES AWKWARD CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS, OBJECTS, AND ENVIRONMENTS BUILD AN UNCONVENTIONAL AND BEWILDERING NARRATIVE. CAPTURED WITH A LOW-RESOLUTION CAMERA PHONE, EACH PHOTO EMBODIES THE BLURRY BOUNDARIES BETWEEN INTIMACY AND VIOLENCE, PROTECTION AND CONTROL.
MAK YING TUNG2
#PRETTYARTIST #UGLYMALEART
THE STORY THAT PUSHED MAK YING TUNG2 TO LAUNCH HER “#PRETTYARTIST, #UGLYMALEART” INSTAGRAM SELFIE SERIES IS A HUMOROUS YET PAINFULLY RELATABLE ONE TO MANY HONG KONGERS: “ONE DAY I TOOK THE MINIBUS, AND A MIDDLE-AGED MAN WAS SITTING NEXT TO ME WITH HIS LEGS WIDE OPEN. AFTER GETTING OFF THE BUS, I POSTED ON FACEBOOK SAYING THAT I HAD ASKED HIM TO CLOSE HIS LEGS. BUT I LIED, I ACTUALLY DIDN’T, AND SAT ON THE EDGE THE WHOLE RIDE.” THIS TIME AROUND, MAK WANTS TO SIT PROPERLY AND PROUDLY, RIGHT AT THE CENTER.