Hope artist Josh Hon will exhibit his works in the Vancouver Art Gallery's next line of exhibitions slated for a members' opening on March 3.
Pacific Crossings: Hong Kong Artists in Vancouver features four artists, whose artwork comes together to represent Hong Kong through the decades from the 1960s to the late 1980s. Hon will exhibit paintings and drawings that reflect his experience of Hong Kong in the 1980s, and also exhibit a new piece of installation art.
“I'm a latecomer into the whole thing,” said Hon. “They already had the show all planned but I think after they saw the show that I have, they wanted me to participate.”
Hon got the attention of the Vancouver Art Gallery when he held his first art exhibition in Canada at the Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (Centre A) in the summer of 2016.
Most of the artwork will be similar to what was exhibited at Centre A, except for a new piece of installation art that will reflect Hon's experience in Canada.
“I thought it would be nice to do a new piece of artwork, and you put an old piece of artwork and then you have one from Hong Kong, one from Canada,” said Hon. “That would be like two bookends, then you can fill it in between so you create a narrative of some sort.”
The installation art, named AS:ME/mory will incorporate clay from Hope, glass from Canyon Glass, water and a bathtub to contain them.
“The clay and water in the bathtub would slowly dry out through the three-month exhibit, and I'm counting on that process,” said Hon.
Pacific Crossings marks the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China, and Hon hopes his artwork can speak to cultural transformation, cultural invasion and the shape of culture.
While Hon wants these themes explored, he is also ensuring that his artwork does not have specific references to ensure that his art can allow people to reflect on the structures and different meanings of his work.
The public can view Pacific Crossings from March 4 to May 28.