“People usually understand paradise as a faraway place that lies beyond home. In reality, however, for those who miss home, home is paradise. The landscapes of home, the chit chat at home, the smell of the freshly cooked rice… Whatever that had been readily available has become the most precious.”—— Anthony Yung, Curator

"Sushi Grass in Paradise & Greener Rice on the Other Side" is a duo exhibition by Hong Kong artists Holly Lee and Sharon Cheuk Wun Lee, evoking the uncanny experience of leaving and returning home. Both artists primarily use photography as their creative medium. As a pioneer of conceptual photography in Hong Kong, Holly Lee will exhibit three works from her seminal series The Hollian Thesaurus. Lee initiated this series in the 1990s, with the content shaped by her personal life experiences and the social environment, reflecting her contemplation of Eastern and Western culture, identity, and history. The new work An Afternoon in October 1996 centres around a new woman who traverses tradition and the mainstream. Lee revisited and reprocessed her preserved materials; the outcome serves as a nostalgic reflection on the bygone eras, and as a finale to the series. Her other new work is the novel Sushi Grass in Paradise, written between 2019 and 2020. It weaves together the mundane incidents and events in a foreign place, including what is in the past, the present, and the future, creating a paradise-like earthly existence. Sharon Cheuk Wun Lee is the winner of the WMA Masters Award 2018/19 and her works often explore topics like memory, disappearance, and emotion. Her new work Greener Rice on the Other Side encapsulates conflicted feelings, blending human affairs, climate, flavour, and memories with the mouldy rice, conveying a sense of being a stranger in a foreign land and the associated longing.

Join us on Aug 24 (Sat) at 3pm for the opening and meet the artist Sharon during the guided tour!

Gallery address: 8/F Chun Wo Commercial Centre, 23-29 Wing Wo Street