Rafting Journey

EVENT DESCRIPTION

The new local Hong Kong curator/artist group “Wearedrinkingartists” is presenting their first exhibition “Rafting Journey” as a trilogy comprising an experimental art exhibition titled ”Rafting Journey”, a series of “Ceramic Boating Building Workshops” and a story collection titled “Our Other Shore”. Using earth and soil as a metaphor and ceramic boats as the vessel, the exhibition aims at exploring the changes of both physical and psychological conditions during a transient and transitional state of living, by inviting the audience on an interactive journey of self-reflection, contemplation and sharing.

Maybe we are in this island city at the moment. Sweating inland at one point; catching for breath at the coast at another. Sometimes we wish we were isolated islands, yet sometimes we enjoy the convenience of connectedness. Accustomed to standing on high mountaintops or at pleasant seashores, we would feel unsteady and uncertain when the unexpected dark storm approaches. We would contemplate where we stand on this shore, and look out for the lights on the other shore.

Do you still remember the feeling of the ground under your feet?

When we talk about land, are we looking only at how it is distributed and used, or its potential for development? Geology and urban planning studies tell us that some of the soil and rocks we see have existed since the Early Jurassic period, and that thousands of homes in the Sham Shui Po district were built on land reclaimed from the sea since the 1980s. But, busy as we are navigating the city’s high-risers and footbridges, we may have forgotten the feeling of land under our feet.

How do we reconnect with land?

We attempt to touch the soil, to feel its temperature and humidity, and to experience the sensation of rolling and kneading it in our palms. Soil comes in different compositions and various textures and colors, just like the distinct personalities of different human beings. If land were a person, the lithology of the soil would be its personality, roles and characteristics. The degree of weathering and erosion of the soil may correspond to our physical and mental vulnerability; the stability of the soil is reminiscent of a person’s strength and resistance; the suitability of material resources may be analogous to our adaptability and flexibility in the face of change. In soil geology, each type of rock has its own range of characteristics that sometimes overlap. It is as much a challenge to generalize from the stories we come across on land as it is to put different kinds of rocks in broad categories. We try to tell the story of the soil, in a hope to reveal the stories of people, the stories of you and me.

At the moment when you feel weak and longing for the other side, would you like to meet the Ferryman? The Ferryman can be you, me, an object, a circumstance, or even the land we live on. When the ”coastline” no longer refers to the boundary between sea and land, we hear the Ferryman say:

”I will infuse the memories of the coastline past and present in the clay I hold. I will mould the boats carrying our thoughts”

No matter where you stand on this shore, no matter whether you decide to stand still, go back and forth or march forward, let The Boat be the vessel of your thoughts. What will you put in The Boat? Which shores do you want The Boat to carry it to?

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Wearedrinkingartists is a curator/artist group comprising six art practitioners – Haynie Sze, Henry Poon, Chris Wong, Chantal Fok, Elaine Tang and Keith Cheng – who graduated with Master of Arts in Fine Art from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2021. Despite their disparate professional backgrounds, art has become a common pathway in their distinct life journeys.