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The Mills Gallery Inaugural Exhibition Opening | Leung Chi Wo : Tracing some places

Opening Reception & Performance
featuring a new composition by Kung Chi Shing
in collaboration with Mok Kwan Kit
2015.12.04 Friday 6.30 – 8.30pm

Artist Talk
2016.01.09 Saturday 4 – 6pm

The Mills Gallery Pop-up Space
The Annex, Nan Fung Place, 173 Des Voeux Road C, Central, Hong Kong

Exhibition
2015.12.05 – 2016.01.09
Monday to Saturday 11am – 7pm
Closed on Sunday and public holidays
The Mills Gallery proudly announces its inaugural exhibition ‘Tracing some places’, a solo show by renowned Hong Kong artist Leung Chi Wo, forming part of the pre-opening programme of the non-profit space. In his new work Leung draws inspiration from individual memories and his family history, rooted in the local textiles industry. ‘Tracing some places’ embodies The Mills Gallery’s commitment to preserving the cultural identity of Hong Kong, whilst embedding it with new meanings and knowledge. The exhibition runs from 5 December 2015 – 9 January 2016 at The Annex in Central, The Mills Gallery’s pop-up space prior to the completion of its permanent home in 2018.

‘Tracing some places’ features 14 works including new commissions, as well as earlier prints, photographs, videos and multi-media sculptures dating back to 1996. Curated by Angelika Li, the selected works are emblematic of Leung’s oeuvre and research, which explore notions of history, memory, temporality, space, movement, paradox and identity. The varied body of works overlays the trajectory of Hong Kong’s development, in which the textiles industry is an inalienable part. From his oil rubbings and wooden engravings to the most recent gelatin prints and installations, Leung has been appropriating his medium to reflect the rapidly changing city with the persistence and rationality of an academic historian.

Central to the exhibition are Frater (2015) and Untitled (Roses) (2015), two new installations commissioned by The Mills Gallery. Frater is derived from and modifies the trope of the sewing machine ‘Brother’ (model number DB2755), once the most valuable piece of furniture in the Leung household. A second hand edition of the same model and date sourced laboriously from Tai Yau Street, the ‘monument’ has been reconfigured to lose its utilitarianism and engineered to punch holes at one-minute intervals into photographic films with images of artificial flowers. Placed alongside Hong Kong fifty-cent coins from 1967, it pays homage to the historic events which broke out that year at a PVC flower factory on Tai Yau Street, near where his father worked.

For Curator Angelika Li, Frater is ‘embedded with a highly personal narrative. The repetitive hammering not only triggers collective memory but also marks a record of time, mediating the past and the present in a poetic visual tapestry. The multi-sensory installation symbolises the infinite possibilities and stories behind every stitch and every weave, a philosophy shared by The Mills Gallery in its vision to serve as a critical platform for encouraging creative dialogue and enriching experience. “Tracing some places” invites viewers to embark on a nuanced journey through history, poetically sealed in Leung’s observations and recollections to propel both physical and psychological contemplation.’

In conjunction with the exhibition, The Mills Gallery has invited world-acclaimed music composer and performer Kung Chi Shing to create a new music and dance performance piece, and award-winning costume director Mok Kwan Kit to design accompanying costumes in response to Leung’s artistic visions. The dynamic cross-disciplinary exploration of textile arts is testament to The Mills Gallery’s continuous commitment to foster cross-cultural engagement and nurture artistic talent with the aim to generate new thought, new ideas and new works.

About The Mills Gallery

The Mills Gallery is a cornerstone under The Mills heritage conservation project. Established in 2015, the space is expected to complete in 2018, spanning no less than 30,000 sq. feet and consisting of an exhibition space, a resources centre, a seminar room, a gallery store and a café. As one of the largest private art spaces in Hong Kong, The Mills Gallery will execute a series of programmes centred around five core pillars: Exhibition; Artist-in-Residence; Learning Programme; Performing Arts and Moving Images; and Community Engagement, to conserve and promote textile art, as well as engage the community of Tsuen Wan and beyond. The non-profit Gallery is committed to preserving the essence of local culture, and driving a continuous dialogue between local and international communities.

About Leung Chi Wo

Leung Chi Wo (b. 1968, Hong Kong) graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1990. After taking part in a short photography study program in Italy and a museum internship in Belgium, he returned to Hong Kong and worked briefly in a television station before joining a publishing house as an editor. In 1995, he decided to further his graduate studies at the Chinese University. In 1996, he cofounded the Para/Site art space in Hong Kong. Having earned his MFA in 1997, he was granted a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council to reside in New York from 1999 to 2000. In 2001, he exhibited in Hong Kong’s first pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Leung’s recent exhibitions include ‘Asia Triennial Manchester,’ UK (2014), ‘China 8’ at NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf, Germany (2015), a solo exhibition at OCAT, Shenzhen, China (2015) and a solo exhibition at Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong (2015).

Leung Chi Wo’s reflective practice combines historical exploration with conceptual inquiry within a contemporary cityscape. Ranging from photography and video to text, performance and installation, he is concerned with the undetermined relationship between conception, perception and understanding, especially in relation to site and history within cultural/political frameworks.

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