Chad Wong, 20190612_警察射催淚彈, from the 我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here! series, 2023, archival pigment print, 61 x 92 cm. Courtesy of the Artist.
Chad Wong, Hong Kong Protesters Shot At Close Range, from the 我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here! series, 2023, archival pigment print, 61 x 92 cm. Courtesy of the Artist.
Chad Wong, Hong Kong protesters smash through police cordon-2, from the 我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here! series, 2023, archival pigment print, 61 x 92 cm. Courtesy of the Artist.
Chad Wong, 20190612_警察射催淚彈, from the 我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here! series, 2023, archival pigment print, 61 x 92 cm. Courtesy of the Artist.
Chad Wong, Hong Kong Protesters Shot At Close Range, from the 我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here! series, 2023, archival pigment print, 61 x 92 cm. Courtesy of the Artist.
Chad Wong, Hong Kong protesters smash through police cordon-2, from the 我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here! series, 2023, archival pigment print, 61 x 92 cm. Courtesy of the Artist.
我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here!
我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here! is a photo “redocumentation” series that appropriates existing footage taken during the 2019 pro-democratic protests in Hong Kong. Through the act of rephotographing, Chad Wong sought to recreate the experience as if he were physically present. The digitally photographed images of footage on a computer screen are marked by a moiré pattern that draws attention to the physicality of the screen and emphasizes the distance between Wong and the events.
The images, sometimes abstracted fragments of a yellow helmet or an umbrella shielding pepper spray, allow the viewer to witness the protests and the brutality of the state-sanctioned violence beyond its literal and figurative confines. The layers of mediation are multiplied, immersing the viewer in the emotional experience shared by many overseas Hong Kongers. The exhibition title refers to a specific protest video wherein a man defiantly states that he “live(s) here” as he is being arrested. While these protests unfolded, Wong was in Canada and watched helplessly as his fellow Hong Kongers were beaten, tear gassed, and arrested – all in the pursuit of democracy. This dissonance between his physical location and the emotional impact became a catalyst for his creative process.
我住喺呢度嘅!/I live here! strives to confront the complexities of memory, longing, and remembrance. This artwork is an homage to the resilience of individuals in the face of adversity and a testament to the enduring power of images to bridge time, distance, and the boundaries of our own lives.
This Selected Exhibition will take place in Studio B of Griffin Art Projects’s resident studios as part of the open studio portion.
