In The Order of Things, three young Hong Kong artists – Chilai Howard Cheng, Silas Fong, and Morgan Wong Wing-Fat will deliver their new net-based video work through a new format of international exhibition presented by Videotage and Netfilmmakers.

The three works will be launched in Hong Kong and Copenhagen simultaneously through live video streaming. Artists, curators, and audience in both Kopenhagen Art Institute and Videotage will be able to exchange ideas and thoughts at the same time.

As a non-commercial online gallery for net-based video art, Netfilmmakers from Denmark exhibits a new edition every three months since 2004. Every edition is curated by guest curators and has a new theme of content, providing a platform to develop and explore the Internet as a space of art . With its 21st edition, Netfilmmakers opens the window towards Asia.

Hong Kong is a culturally vibrant city. Politically, Hong Kong is part of China but it maintains its integrity as a unique, global metropolis driven by a progressive belief in technological innovation, strong awareness of the potential of new media and the global flow of capital. The 21st edition of Netfilmmakers asks the question of how to understand “order” and structure in the global cultural intersection. This calls for a reflection upon values, identity and history.

The three artists represent the young and strong individual voices on the current Hong Kong scene of video and media-art. They have chosen different thematic and conceptual approaches to the project. Each has found a clear, unique and sometimes humorous path.

Chilai Howard Cheng works with the relationship between the conscious and the unconscious. He asks how we create our image of reality and how we think of ourselves in this image. While we understand ourselves in one way, we might actually be governed by another.

Silas Fong playfully investigates the principles of how one finds videos and images in the (dis)order of the internet. In his work he thematises not only how we organise and store images but also how we recall them both personally and technologically.

Morgan Wong Wing-Fat plays with the idea of permutation. Permutation is a process that involves reordering of elements in a given order. An example is an anagram where reordering the letters in a word creates a new word. The process of permutation involves a systematic investigation of possible orders, an artistic practice can also be understood as a process of permutation.

The Order of Things is curated by Zeenath Hasan and Rune Søchting. In the 21st edition of Netfilmmakers, the website of its online gallery will be relaunched with a new design. The event will be streamed live to Denmark at the night of 26 March. The Order of Things is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

About the Artists:

Chilai Howard Cheng
Chilai Howard Cheng is a Hong Kong mixed-media art worker focusing on moving images and mixed media installation. Previous works were mostly related to society issues and humanity presented in personal believes and values. His works were screened in various festivals such as No Soul For Sales TATE Modern, Loop art Video Festival, subvision.kunst.festival.off., Move on Asia, The Hong Kong International Film Festival and October Contemporary. Also, his works have been exhibited in Berlin, Madrid, London, Barcelona, Hamburg, Vienna, São paulo, Seoul etc. Besides art, his passion also goes into two-dimensional and spatial design. He worked as a creative director at the November 7th Design Co., providing services in corporate branding design and exhibition design.

Silas Fong
Born in 1985, Silas Fong is a contemporary artist based in Hong Kong. He graduated form the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University in 2008. His video, installation and new media works have been shown in exhibitions and screenings in Asia and Europe. His work “Stolen times for sale” received the gold award in the Interactive Media Category of the 14th Hong Kong Independent Short Film and Video Awards in 2009. He also won the Young Artist Award from Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial 2009 and named in 2010’s ‘40 under 40’ Asia leading design talent by Perspective Magazine.

Morgan Wong Wing-Fat
Morgan Wong Wing-Fat is an artist currently based between Hong Kong and Beijing. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Creative Media from City University of Hong Kong in 2007, his works have been exhibited in museums and art spaces in Europe, Asia and America, including Tate Modern(“No Soul For Sale”, 2010) and Hong Kong Museum of Art (“Digit@logue”, 2008). Artworks from Morgan Wong have been shortlisted in Societe Generale Chinese Art Awards 2010 and received Silver Award in the 13th Hong Kong Independent Film & Video Awards (Single Screen based Interactive Media Category) in 2008. Also, he has finished his artist in residency in Sapporo, Japan in early 2010.

The Order of Things

Date: March 26, 2011(Sat)
Time: 9pm – 10:30pm
Venue: Videotage
Address: Unit 13, Cattle Depot Artist Village, 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, To Kwa Wan

Curators: Zeenath Hasan (India/Sweden) and Rune Søchting (Denmark)
Artists: Chilai Howard Cheng, Silas Fong, Morgan Wong Wing-Fat
Jointly presented by Netfilmmakers (Denmark) & Videotage