Reviews & Articles

Vivian Poon is one of a slew of young Hong Kong artists doing intricate and thoughtful art and the recently opened hulahoop is a small off-the-track venue perfect for viewing up-and-coming artists. Poon’s Shifting offers the viewer a simple proposition to cope with the pressures of urban living: think of a railway line with its different stations as being a metaphor for different options to choose when you are feeling pessimistic. Being ‘stuck’ can be improved by simply taking the time to think while you wait for a train and then choosing a station that will allow you, like a railway line, to keep going forward. Poon is both a careful painter and an experimenter in three-dimensional objects. In the exhibition’s title work a series of seven panelled paintings (see detail of one panel at right) shows a young woman dressed mysteriously in a rabbit gown and in a sequence of mundane actions – listening to an iPod; idly resting on her arm; looking in a mirror - is seen waiting, just prior to taking the train. Her own actions are implied and presented without fuss: decisive actions are usually just like that. In a related work, ‘One Way Ticket’, Poon casts a set of old-style train tickets in plastic resin: choose a ticket and take yourself spiritually to a better and happier mood. These small sculptural objects have greater power and symbolic meaning by being able to be placed in a purse, wallet or around the neck; their amulet-like presence is a reminder that being positive is often just a choice. This is not a perfect exhibition: some of the work has previously been seen and the presentation and curatorial explanations could be tighter, but it is a generous exploration of an aspect of humanity and the power of will over dilemma. Exhibition: Vivian Poon: Shifting Date: 13.6 – 20.6.2008 Venue: Hulahoop Gallery Address : G/F, 23 Sau Wa Fong (off St Francis St), Wan Chai, Hong Kong Enquiries: 852 6939 8023 Website: www.hulahoop.hk