Para Site and UCCA Center for Contemporary Art are delighted to present ‘Liquid Ground’ curated by Alvin Li and Junyuan Feng. Developed from an exhibition proposal selected through an open call for emerging curators by Para Site, ‘Liquid Ground’ features eleven new commissions and several recent works by a total of fifteen artists that will be further accompanied by a rich range of public programmes taking visitors out of Para Site’s exhibition space in Quarry Bay.
A proposal for an uncertain future that might, one day, be underwater, ‘Liquid Ground’ departs from the aggressive land reclamation projects undertaken by many Asian cities including Hong Kong. Such projects are exemplified by the ‘Lantau Tomorrow Vision’ proposal that seeks to turn Lantau Island into Hong Kong’s third economic hub by 2030—seemingly oblivious to the impending drowning of coastal cities under the effects of the climate catastrophe. The motif of the island as ecological units and places of dwelling—isolated but open, liminal but self- sufficient, constantly phase-shifting between solid, liquid and spirit—is omnipresent in the exhibition. Engaging an eclectic range of perspectives, the fifteen artists on view delve into the complex material histories of their respective locales to propose scripts of their own, defying the hegemony of technocracy while opening up new ways of seeing and sensing our ecological enmeshment.
Gallery address: 22/F, Wing Wah Industrial Building, 677 King’s Road, Quarry Bay