EVENT DESCRIPTION
Hong Kong–based sand artist Snow Chung will present her new solo exhibition, Still, There Is Light, from 25 February to 3 March 2026 at Major Pop Art on Sai Street, Sheung Wan. Revisiting 15 cityscapes across Hong Kong, Chung transforms familiar places and her brief yet warm encounters with strangers into 15 sand painting artworks presented in illuminated light boxes. Using sand as her paint and light as her canvas, the exhibition captures fleeting moments of human connection, quiet warmth, and a deeply personal journey of reflection and inner stillness.
The works draw inspiration from Chung’s journeys through well-known yet everyday locations across Hong Kong, including Monster Building, Temple Street, Stone Slab Street (Pottinger Street), and Choi Hung Estate. Rather than depicting architectural landmarks realistically, Chung focuses on the emotional atmosphere of each place: genuine human encounters, subtle exchanges, and the distinct rhythms of different neighbourhoods. Through sand and light, she reimagines these locations as layered impressions that exist between memory and lived reality, inviting viewers to pause and re-engage with overlooked moments of urban life.
The word “Still” in the exhibition title carries a dual meaning. It refers both to what continues to exist and to the act of stopping, even momentarily. Sand art itself embodies this tension: a process that moves from nothing to form, yet can be erased with a single gesture. Through the movement of sand, Chung responds to the constantly shifting emotional states of everyday life, acknowledging that restlessness, fatigue, and uncertainty are all experiences worth recognising and recording.
“Sand art is inherently ephemeral,” Chung shares. “A drawing can disappear with one sweep of the hand. But I keep asking myself: how do I make these feelings and memories stay?” In Still, There Is Light, Chung presents a self-developed technique that allows sand artworks to be fixed, enabling what is usually fleeting to remain. Grain by grain, sand accumulates like memories taking shape in the mind. Presented against illuminated backgrounds, texture, line, and negative space are gently revealed in darkness, highlighting the dual nature of sand art as both fluid and still.
For Chung, sand art is not only a visual language but also a medium of communication. The sand box becomes a bridge for dialogue: during her street-based filming process, she engaged with residents, passers-by, and visitors from different backgrounds. In quieter moments, she entered conversations with herself; once the works are viewed, new dialogues emerge between the artist, the audience, companions, and one’s inner world.
In the main exhibition space, the 15 sand artworks are accompanied by selected physical objects encountered during Chung’s creative journey, such as balloons from children in Choi Hung Estate or food shared by residents in Tai Mei Tuk. These everyday objects form part of the exhibition’s narrative, reminding viewers that small, ordinary moments are essential fragments of lived experience and worthy of being recorded. The immersive section “Sand · Shadow · Light”, created in collaboration with composer Yip Siu-Chung, presents a darkened environment where abstract sand-and-light visuals flow slowly in response to original music. Visitors are invited into a sensory space without prescribed interpretation, allowing observation to become a personal and self-directed experience.
Still, There Is Light is not only an exhibition, but a quiet urban passage. It invites audiences to slow down amid the city’s constant motion, step into a space shaped by light and sand, and reconnect with the warmth that continues to exist within everyday life.
