Exhibitions and Events
Niubi Project Kaisei Exhibition
Works by Fan You Rong, Feng Wei, Hou Yan Yan, Huang Yu Long, Li Yuan Bo, Meng Bai Shen, Su Jia Shou, Su Jia Xi, Su Jie, Zhang Ye Xing, Zhao Yi Qian, Zhou Jin Hua
Vernissage: 20 October 2009,
6:30pm
- 8:30pm
Exhibition Continues: 20 October 2009 - 12 November 2009
Branch Gallery, 27 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
Global warming and environmental contamination have become familiar terms to all of us, especially since the introduction of plastic-bag tax in Hong Kong in July 2009. In order to raise our awareness of the damages caused by our excessive use and disposal of plastic materials, Schoeni Art Gallery has dedicated a section of the Niubi Newbie Kids II exhibition to the promotion of Project Kaisei. Project Kaisei is a non-profit Hong Kong and California based environmental initiative committed to the research and study of possible techniques to capture plastic debris trapped in our oceans - the Plastic Vortex - and ways to detoxify and recycle these wastes into fuel.
Project Kaisei consists of a team of innovators, scientists, environmentalists, ocean lovers, sailors, and sports enthusiasts who have come together with a common purpose. Project Kaisei had embarked on their first expedition in August with a three-pronged mission: to develop a sound scientific sampling of the Marine Debris in the North Pacific Gyre, to test and assess various Marine Debris prototype harvesting/reclamation technologies, and to gathering insight on solutions to a possible cleanup in future expeditions. As initial findings, it was concluded that debris was recorded at every stage of the expedition in over 3500 miles of water, with steady increase of recorded as the ship moved deeper into the North Pacific Gyre. Every sample taken within the Gyre contained plastic debris, from ultra-fine to very large, indicating the severity of the situation.
The Niubi Newbie Kids is an annual exhibition series curated by Nicole Schoeni, and this year we will be hosting the second showing at Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong. The Niubi Newbie Kids II exhibition will feature 19 young talents from China, who were all born in the 80’s, a generation that is often coined as the ‘Me’ generation. The works by this group of artists cover a wide range of medium and theme that is in no way restricted by the power of imagination. Their individualistic approach and absence of political concerns provide an obvious contrast to the art of the ‘New Wave’ artists who have emerged in the 80’s.
It is particularly relevant for young kids of the ‘Me’ generation to promote issues of environmental awareness, not only because they represent the future of our world, but also due to the fact that they (and future coming generations) are being forced to face the increasingly devastating consequences of environmental damage caused by mankind. Therefore, in response to the growing environmental crisis, the Niubi artists have created an artwork based on the theme of plastic or environmental contamination, and corresponding sales revenue contributed will be donated to Project Kaisei. Through this effort, we wish to encourage each of us to start making our own contributions towards saving our precious environment and nature.
Selected Artist Statements on their Artwork in Contribution to Project Kaisei
Hou Yan Yan – “Our earth’s ecological crisis is now a spreading phenomenon, and environmental protection is already a serious and major problem for us to tackle. Being an artist, my own capacity is only minimal, but I have chosen to start from my own experience, to truthfully examine my living habits; making the best use of things and to protect our common homeland.”
Huang Yu Long – “The land, ocean and air together form an environment that humans depend on for their survival. One of the ceramic boxes of the art piece has a crack on it, and is used for holding soil, representing the land. The other box holds water in it, representing the ocean. The entire art piece is surrounded by air, creating a miniature version of the earthly environment. However, it is occupied by plastic wastes, affecting this miniature environment, while it raises our concern towards the problems of our environment.”
Meng Bai Shen – “Recently, I have created two pencil pieces, employing the sewage cover as main theme. I feel that pencil is a great medium to capture the texture of the metal and its coolness. In one artwork, the object is being portrayed in a standard official manner, while the other is depicted in an unofficial way. Both covers only express the symbolic appearance of the things that lie beneath it. While both of them are secretly working together, contributing towards the ecological changes and transformation of China. Being just a commoner, what is it that I can do?”
Su Jia Shou – “The scene depicted in my painting has already become a real scenario, without overstatement; even more severe cases than the one portrayed can be found. Seeing birds fly in the sky creates a feeling of pleasure, but in fact they are placed in adverse circumstances, against the way nature is intended to be.”
Zhou Jin Hua – “Kaisei Project has touched my heart since the very beginning. This, in fact, has to do with the environment I live in: my studio in Beijing’s Hei Qiao Village is located next to a garbage site. The foul smell during the summer and the annoying flies are the main characteristics of this place. Being next to a garbage site has helped me realise our enormous ability to create rubbish, therefore I first took a few shots of the garbage site, and then modified them according to my concept. In creating the artwork for Kaisei Project, One Day, I have borrowed the idea from Pieter Bruegel’s Big Fish Eat Little Fish. Actually, big fish eating the small is a reflection of human desire. In our times however, the case is no longer as simple as the big eating the small; modern big fishes not only eat small fishes, but they have also eaten a lot of rubbish into their stomachs too.”
We hope that each of us will contribute our own effort to protect our common earth, improving our communal environment.
After the opening event of Niubi Newbie Kids II exhibition, the Niubi Project Kaisei Exhibition will move to our Hollywood Branch Gallery.
A talk conducted by Doug Woodring, Co-founder of Project Kaisei, will take place on 20 October 2009 at 7.30 pm, at Schoeni Branch Gallery on Hollywood Road.
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