Kingsley Ng: Listen to the Sound of the Earth Spinning

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Media artist Kingsley Ng interprets the history and characteristics of his exhibition sites, creating contemplative, meditative experiences through poetic and minimalist interventions that involve sound, light, image and kinetic installations. Theatrical or ephemeral in nature, his works are completed through the audience’s interactions, such as touching and even meditating within the artwork’s space while recalling the memory embedded in the venue.

In this exhibition, Listen to the Sound of the Earth Spinning, Ng draws on the textile heritage and new meanings tied to The Mills, where CHAT is housed. The Mills, once the spinning factory complex of Nan Fung Textiles, is now known as a pet-friendly cultural hub. In the newly commissioned artwork Globes, Ng uses textile materials and tools to evoke imagination about the Earth that transcends anthropocentrism through the presence of animal companions.

‘Musical’, ‘chime’, ‘requiem’, ‘etudes’ – these words in the titles of Ng’s past works reflect the importance of listening in his practice. The process of listening not only evokes emotion but also invites attention to the vulnerable entities around us which are often muffled by loud noises. Here at CHAT, Ng immerses us in a soundscape where we can listen to the spinning of the threads of life by humans and animals and the weaving of the fabric of this planet.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Kingsley Ng is a media artist and designer with a focus on conceptual and site-specific projects. He believes that art helps us to mediate our environment, whether as a viewer or participator. His past projects include Twenty-Five Minutes Older, a commission by Art Basel in 2017 which took the audience on a moving tram, and After the Deluge, presented in an underground stormwater tank the size of 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools in Hong Kong in 2018.

Ng received postgraduate training at Le Fresnoy – National Studio of Contemporary Arts in France, where he graduated with the highest honours. He then obtained an MSc in Advanced Sustainable Design from the University of Edinburgh and a BFA in New Media from Ryerson University. He is currently Associate Professor of the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University.

His works have been featured in notable exhibitions and international venues such as the MACRO, Rome Italy; Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia, Parkside, Australia; Guangzhou Triennial, China; Land Art Mongolia Biennial, Mongolia; Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, Japan; IRCAM at Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Pavilion Lille Europe, Shanghai Expo, China; InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre, Toronto, Canada; and the Hong Kong Museum of Art and Art Basel in Hong Kong.