Ma Wick (馬域) exhibited a series of drawings called Flying zi2 [飛子] at the exhibition. The drawings were made with pastels and graphite and were installed throughout the exhibition hall. Ma sees communication as the deciphering of metaphors, and for him, both poetry and painting are attempts to pioneer both mentally and emotionally imperfect states, as well as an attempt to admit such a state. The drawings in the series consist of abstract color fields or seed wing drawings that serve as metaphors for the sense of déjà vu or vague emotions that one feels when arriving at a specific place. Ma also left his fingerprints on the walls and floors of the exhibition hall, which adds a personal touch and allows the audience to share his mixed feelings about the space.

  Aaron Lam (林國鑫) has created an installation titled We Are the World, which features table top flag holders commonly used to display flags at global meetings of world leaders. The artist has modified the original flat bottom of the flag holders by replacing it with a hemispherical one and arranging them in a circular form. The installation symbolizes the current state of international relations and borders that are becoming increasingly unpredictable and unstable. The circular formation of the flag holders gets scattered when touched, serving as a metaphor for the fragility of global unity.

  Cheong Wing Shan (鍾詠珊) is exhibiting two works in this exhibition: an LED light installation called To the Unknown I [前往不明之地 I] and a single-channel video called To the Unknown II [前往不明之地 II]. To the Unknown I [前往不明之地 I] features two green LED lights installed on the exhibition hall's windows, with a sentence resembling a PR slogan from a public institution reading “Imagine bold! Let’s create the future” in Cantonese and Korean. In To the Unknown II [前往不明之地 II], the artist shows the landscape of roads where cars and trains pass by. The narration reads that the road that brings travelers to their desired destination within a shorter time frame creates a faster city, while a faster city brings us a faster future, and such speed would enable us to rule the future. Cheong's works exude kitschy lighting fixtures that can be found in many parts of the city, reflecting a sense of abundant anticipation towards the future overlapped with the road landscape and a solid trust in speed both inside and outside the exhibition hall.

  The exhibition hall is filled with a myriad of themes, including the crossing of borders by foreigners, the intersection of geopolitics and tourism, public institutions’ call for speed, and a persistent feeling of deja vu. The Popo-Post Art Group acknowledges that their original intention caused these feelings, and that changing their approach is the outcome of experiencing those same feelings. The city they operate in lacks adequate studio space and is plagued by environmental pollution and poverty issues. While imagining either a utopia or dystopia is unappealing, it begs the question: did the collective really have a choice? If their original intention was to stand out in a city with limited options, then their shift in perspective may have also been a choice from a few available options.

The collective's sense of humor acts as a cement filling the gaps in their imagination about the city. The journey from WhatsApp to their studio in Kwun Tong represents the gaps they discovered in the city. This may be why Popo-Post Art Group introduces itself with the phrase "HIGH-QUALITY CEMENT (100% 文化水泥)". Cement is shapeless, but it fills the gaps and takes on a specific form once it cures. Similarly, the collective's initial intentions may change, as if it's a principle they follow.

Text by Moon-seok Yi

Translated by Gyeongtak Lee