Ink | Pulse

EVENT DESCRIPTION

M+, Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, is delighted to present Ink | Pulse, the first dual-artist commission for the M+ Facade. The algorithm-driven work is a collaboration between Taiwanese calligraphy artist Tong Yang-Tze and Hong Kong media artist Chris Cheung (h0nh1m). It will be shown on the M+ Facade at night from Friday, 30 June to Sunday, 24 September 2023.

Ink | Pulse is a site-specific moving image work set within the undulating architecture of Hong Kong’s famous skyline along the Victoria Harbour. Inspired by and based on Silent Music, a series of one hundred ink-based pieces that were collected during Tong’s creative process from 2003 to 2010, the commission exhibits a generative aspect that amplifies the conceptual resonance between ink, calligraphy, and the ever-renewing nature of life.

The weight of the brush, the rhythm of the lines, and the latency of in-between spaces in Tong’s work highlight the ability of ink to evolve, enlighten, and regenerate. Inspired by the energy, poise, and flow of Tong’s calligraphy, Cheung portrays ink as a heart-like vessel for cell division, blood circulation, and the nervous system. A collaboration that emerged from passionate conversations around calligraphy practice, Ink | Pulsepays tribute to the lively dialogue between generations, artistic practices, and mediums, offering a transformative view of ink as a form of energy, philosophy, and spiritual universe.

Coinciding with the presentation of Ink | Pulse, Cheung will be in conversation with Chanel Kong, Curator, Moving Image, M+ in a free public talk at 19:30 on Friday, 30 June 2023 to discuss the creative process behind the commission and his collaboration with Tong. Cheung will share insights on how his generative art practice figures in his appreciation of traditional ink calligraphy and how his conversations with Tong informed the variations and parameters of the algorithm he created for the work. Attendees of this programme are invited to participate in a demonstration of the artist’s algorithm and an outdoor viewing of the work on the M+ Facade after the talk, subject to weather conditions.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Tong Yang-Tze is one of the most acclaimed calligraphy artists working today. Trained in the classical art of writing since childhood and later in oil painting in Taiwan and the United States, she began making calligraphy exclusively in the 1970s. Her signature rhythmic strokes and innovative compositions of characters often blur the boundaries between calligraphy and abstract painting.

Chris Cheung Hon Him (h0nh1m) is a Hong Kong–based artist whose installations and audiovisual performances incorporate electronic, sound, image, and creative technologies. Paying tribute to both Eastern and Western philosophies, the artist employs traditional concepts as a point of departure in his immersive soundscapes, generative art, and data art. His award-winning works and his collaborative projects as the founder of artist collectives XCEPT and XCEED have been featured in festivals such as Ars Electronica, Electronic Language International Festival (FILE), and European Media Art Festival (EMAF). He has performed at Sónar Festival in Hong Kong and WRO Art Biennale in Poland.