As part of the Guest Programme: Hong Kong/ Taiwan/ Singapore at the 25th anniversary of Videoex – Switzerland’s largest festival dedicated to experimental film and video, Videotage is honoured to curate two Hong Kong video art programmes, accompanied by an artist-in-focus programme curated by our co-founder Ellen Pau.

Ellen Pau’s Moving Image

Video art pioneer and largely self-taught artist Ellen Pau (*1961, Hong Kong) has been the defining figure of the Hong Kong video scene since its beginnings, as an artist, curator and co-founder of the artist collective Videotage (1986) – today the leading video art organization in Hong Kong. In her artistic work, Pau has been following current technological developments and exploring possible visual languages resulting from them for almost 40 years. A central theme is the political climate in Hong Kong, changes in urban life, and social issues, often exploring femininity and queerness.

Initially shown in local art spaces, her work could be seen internationally from 1987 onwards. In the early 1990s, Pau began incorporating sculptural elements and sound into her video installations. She has also worked as an MTV director, cinematographer, video artist, curator, educator and art administrator, in addition to working as a radiologist in a hospital since graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 1985. In addition to her own artistic activities, Pau has been involved in promoting video art and artists. In addition to Videotage, she also co-founded the Microwave International New Arts Media Festival in 1996.

Experimental Ground

Hong Kong video art emerged during the 1980s with intriguing attempts by independent artists to explore the city’s socio-political conditions in times of experimentation with the growing availability of portable image-making tools. Without polished practice of cinematic production, Hong Kong video artists develop their self-invented language and narratives that are non-standardized, diverse and non-apriori. Experiment Ground brings together a selection of video artworks from Videotage Media Art Collection, demonstrating the aesthetics and artistic concerns of early video art in Hong Kong.

Video Gaze

Since the appearance of video art, female artists have been using the newfound freedom in domestic video cameras to redefine how their own bodies are viewed, presented, and interpreted on screen. Video Gaze focuses on the works of Hong Kong female artists in the past and present, showcasing the changing points of view of their own images through their own gazes.

錄映太奇很榮幸為瑞士國際實驗電影與錄像藝術節Videoex 25 週年的「客席節目：香港/台灣/新加坡」 策劃兩場香港錄像放映，與此同時，我們的聯合創辦人鮑藹倫亦親自策劃自己的作品放映。

Ellen Pau’s Moving Image
Date: 28 May 2023
Time: 7:30 PM CEST
Venue: Festivalkino Cinema Z3, Kanonengasse 20, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland

Diversion, 1990
For Some Reasons, 2003
Drained II, 1998
Fanfare of Common People, 2010
Recycling Cinema, 1999
Song of The Goddess, 1992
She Moves, 1988
Operation Theatre, 1995
52Hz, 2022

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Experimental Ground
Date: 29 May 2023
Time: 9:15 PM CEST
Venue: Festivalkino Cinema Z3, Kanonengasse 20, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland

Voices Seen, Images Heard, Linda Lai, 2009
Getting Used to Run, Jamsen Law Sum Po, 1997
TV Game of the Year, Ellen Pau, 1990
Here’s Looking At You, Kid!, Wong Chi Fai & Yau Ching & Ellen Pau, 1990
Image of a City, May Fung & Danny Yung, 1990
Goodbye, Anson Mak, 2006
Under the Lion Crotch, Wong Ping, 2011

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Video Gaze
Date: 30 May 2023
Time: 9:15 PM CEST
Venue: Festivalkino Cinema Z3, Kanonengasse 20, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland

RATI, Phoebe Man, 2001
And You Pamper My Heart — A Message Story, Chan Ka Kiu, 2019
Suet-sin’s Sisters, Yau Ching, 1999
To be Brandon (Scene 1), Nicole Pun, 2019
In Search of an Allison, Sikay Tang, 1992
Important Objects, Jennifer Chan, 2013
Wrestling Blues, Yarli Alison, 2019-2020

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