“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”

In the opening of “The Metamorphosis,” Kafka bluntly declaring that the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, transforms from a diligent young man into a despicable and idle insect. The author turns absurdity into reality with just a few words, leaving us and Gregor to live a bizarre and surreal everyday life and question how to find meaning amid overwhelming change. More than a hundred years later, artist Leung Mee Ping’s exhibition “Souvenirs de Choses” continues Kafka’s inquiry through a series of works depicting insects and dust—intentionally or unintentionally. However, Leung does not sever the connection between the human world and the realm of insects as Kafka did. Instead, she brings back the trivial “things”—flies, fleas, ant corpses, and dust—and questions the weight of their lives. Her works either depict exaggerated and distorted proportions or focus on tiny details, silently observing the universe of microorganisms. They prompt the audience to look at a spider in its dull, compound eyes, listen to the sighs of dust at deserted temples, and occasionally measure the passage of time through the ants’ perspective. In her works, things move, stay still, and feel heavy or light. However, between the visible and the invisible, they involve here and there, the mundane and the sacred, the minuscule and the magnificent, taking actions and doing nothing, and touch upon the meanings of the existence and non-existence, and the real and virtual. 

This exhibition can be seen as Leung Mee Ping’s allegory of time, inviting the audience to wander within and measure the weight of time in our ever-changing phenomenal world.

Opening reception: 01.09.2023 (Fri) 18:00-20:00
Gallery address: 4/F, 20 Hing Yip St, Kwun Tong