Lin Tianmiao and Wang Gongxin:
Here and There
Lin Tianmiao and Wang Gongxin:
Here and There
This exhibition marks the first Hong Kong presentation of Here? or There? (2002), a large-scale multimedia installation by artists Lin Tianmiao (born 1961, Shanxi) and Wang Gongxin (born 1960, Beijing). The M+ Collection work premiered at the 2002 Shanghai Biennale before touring widely across Europe and the United States. The immersive installation pairs Lin’s sculptural dresses, made from fabric and hair, with Wang’s disjunctive soundscape and six-channel video projection. The artwork’s pervasive sense of eeriness and disorientation evokes the social and psychological effects of a rapidly changing world. Accompanying the installation are two mesmerising pieces that the artists made separately, Dialogue (1995/2017) by Wang and The Black Sameness (2011) by Lin. As a whole, the exhibition reveals how the two artists explore the relationships between danger and safety, despair and hope, and certainty and doubt in everyday life.
Wang Gongxin. Dialogue, 1995/2017. Installation view of Rotation, White Cube, Hong Kong, 2017. Wood, metal, light bulb, cord, motor, and ink with water. M+, Hong Kong. © Wang Gongxin. Photo: © White Cube (Kitmin Lee)
Lin Tianmiao. The Black Sameness, 2011. Mixed media. Take a Step Back Collection. © Lin Tianmiao. Photo: Li Liang. Image courtesy of the artist
Image at top: Lin Tianmiao and Wang Gongxin. Here? or There?, 2002. Installation view of Bound, Unbound, Asia Society New York, 2012. Mannequins and six-channel video projection. M+, Hong Kong. Museum purchase and gift of Take a Step Back Collection, 2023. © Lin Tianmiao, Wang Gongxin. Photo: Michael Bodycomb. Image courtesy of Galerie Lelong, New York