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South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong artist turns TCM items into fascinating works of art
Born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners, Hong Kong artist So Wing-po was never tempted to follow in her parents' footsteps. Advertisement Rather, a creative sensibility emerged from her childhood fascination with the family's TCM pharmacy in Sheung Wan, a space overflowing with herbs, fruit and animal parts. Now, the 40-year-old has gained recognition for transforming those materials and the holistic philosophy embedded in TCM into a distinct visual language. In her hands, dissected and dried cures seem like living entities, appearing in large-scale installations, sculptures and videos in which they hint at, but are also at a remove from, their traditional uses. Take her kinetic installation Sea Ear Hi Hat (2020), made up of over a dozen abalone shells – a material used in TCM to cleanse the liver, also known as 'sea ears' – that she motorised to open and close like hi-hat cymbals. Their uncanny appearance, steady exhalations, resemblance to human ears and known healing properties imbue Sea Ear Hi Hat with an arresting vitality. Sea Ear Hi-Hat (Take Turns) (2025), by So Wing-po, which repurposes the kinetic abalone shells from her 2020 work Sea Ear Hi Hat, is displayed at her current solo exhibition 'Polyglot' at Blindspot Gallery. Photo: Edmond So Since her debut solo exhibition at Tai Kwun in 2018, her ability to incorporate the microscopic in installations that speak to universal concerns has been sought after around the world.
Tatler Asia
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
9 cultural events to look out for in June: Jay Chou concert, Jimmy O Yang show and ‘Lust, Caution' composer in Hong Kong
2. Cy Gavin Above 'Untitled (Aquarium)' (2025) by Cy Gavin (Image: courtesy of Cy Gavin, Jackie Furtado and Gagosian) When: Until August 2 Where: Gagosian, 7/F, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central What: New York-based artist Cy Gavin—who drew global attention for his Met Gala blue carpet—is debuting his first solo show in Asia. His latest works explore transformation, resilience and natural cycles. Featuring elements like Maximillian sunflowers and protostars, Gavin weaves together metaphors of biological and geological growth. 3. Dongpo: Life in Poems Above 'Dongpo: Life in Poems' (Photo: courtesy of LCSD) When: June 13 to 14 Where: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui What: A poetic homage to Song dynasty polymath Su Dongpo (1037–1101), this stage production by China Oriental Performing Arts Group blends contemporary dance with classical Chinese cultural elements. Expect an atmospheric interpretation of Dongpo's legacy through calligraphy, poetry, martial arts, painting and more. 4. Jimmy O Yang Live in Hong Kong When: June 13 to 15 Where: Hong Kong Coliseum What: Hong Kong-born comedian and actor Jimmy O Yang returns for his hometown debut. Known for Interior Chinatown (2024) and Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Yang delivers fast-paced humour shaped by cultural quirks and personal tales of identity. 5. Echoes of the Heart Above A poster of 'Echoes of the Heart' (Photo: courtesy of French May) When: June 14 Where: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui What: A multicultural musical moment featuring Canto-pop singer Jay Fung and French vocalist Joyce Jonathan. They'll perform across genres in Chinese, English and French. Jonathan, who won the NRJ Music Award for Francophone Breakthrough of the Year in 2011, is the first French singer-songwriter to join the Chinese music competition Ride the Wind in 2024. This concert is part of this year's French May. 6. Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Detachments Above 'Pond of Never Enough' by Trevor Yeung (Photo: courtesy of M+ and the artist) When: June 14 to October 12 Where: M+, West Kowloon Cultural District What: Following his showcase at the 60th Venice Biennale, Hong Kong artist Trevor Yeung revisits and reimagines his acclaimed installation. Shifting from themes of attachment to detachment, Yeung explores power dynamics and emotional ecology through aquatic-inspired ecosystems. 7. Wing Po So: Polyglot Above 'Polyglot Mulberry' (2023) by Wing Po So (Image: courtesy of Blindspot Gallery and the artist) When: June 17 to August 23 Where: Blindspot Gallery, Wong Chuk Hang What: Wing Po So examines the language of nature through a pharmacological lens. Drawing from Chinese medicine, her mixed-media works use materia medica to reveal hidden systems and structures, offering a layered interpretation of the environment and the unseen forces within it. 8. The Film Music of Alexandre Desplat Above A still from 'The Shape of Water' (Image: courtesy of IMDB) When: June 20 and 21 Where: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre What: The Hong Kong Philharmonic pays tribute to Alexandre Desplat, the French composer behind The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Lust, Caution (2007), Godzilla (2014), The Shape of Water (2017). Though Desplat will not attend due to Hollywood commitments; his wife and violinist Solrey will conduct the performance. Don't miss: 'Frozen', James Horner and John Williams: the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's new season line-up is announced 9. Jay Chou Carnival World Tour Above Jay Chou at his 'Carnival World Tour' in Nanning, China in April 2025 (Photo: Instagram/@jaychou) When: June 27 to 29 Where: Kai Tak Stadium, Kowloon City What: The Mando-pop legend Jay Chou returns to Hong Kong with his globe-trotting Carnival World Tour , which began in Shanghai in 2019 and has since then toured around Asia, Oceania and Europe. From Fade Away to If You Don't Love Me, It's Fine , fans can expect an energetic set of his greatest hits in this Hong Kong concert.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Artist South Ho talks about his work and new solo exhibition Wandering Daily
It's rare to catch artist and photographer South Ho Siu-nam in front of the camera, but when you do, it turns out he's quite a natural. 'I know what to give the photographer,' says Ho, breaking his searing camera-ready gaze with a playful smile and breezy confidence. 'I know all the tricks.' On the roof of Wah Luen Industrial Centre, in Fo Tan, Ho poses against a lush mountainous backdrop dotted with industrial warehouses and housing complexes. His studio is 11 floors below. 'It's great feng shui, actually, but these buildings only appeared around five years ago,' he says, gesturing towards the housing estates. 'Before that all you could see from here were green mountains.' Observing the city and articulating its flux is second nature to the artist, who's been actively documenting the local landscape since 2005. Me, My White Sneakers, and Shoelaces (2025) is part of the South Ho Siu Nam: Wandering Daily exhibition at Blindspot Gallery. Photo: courtesy artist and Blindspot Gallery Over the years, it's not only Hong Kong's topography that Ho's been cataloguing. He's become the Hong Kong art world's favourite photographer, arriving at exhibition openings with camera in hand to capture community moments. He co-founded two of his own spaces – (2012-2017) and NewPark in 2022 – and is a well-established artist in his own right, too, known for his 'Every Daily' series from 2013 and its black-and-white wide shots of the cityscape superimposed with colourful grids. When we meet, Ho has just returned from a trip to Kyoto, Japan, where his work is being shown at the Kyotographie International Photography Festival. The week before, he opened 'Wandering Daily', a solo show at Blindspot Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, featuring iterations on his 'Every Daily' series and works in which he's experimented with new techniques and media. On view is It's golden (2025), a diptych that depicts a blurred, almost nostalgic view of the city on acrylic with 24K gold leaf. To create the piece, Ho used a pinhole camera and walked from Victoria Peak to Lion Rock . 'I wanted to see how the city has changed in the past five years from the perspective of these two important peaks,' he says. South Ho's Me, My White Sneakers, and Shoelaces (2025) at Blindspot Gallery. Photo: courtesy artist and Blindspot Gallery The artist also staged a rare performance titled Me, My White Sneakers, and Shoelaces (2025) at the exhibition opening. For it, he wore a pair of trainers from which 100-metre-long shoelaces sprung forth in a windy, maze-like arrangement across the gallery floor. Requiring careful navigation, audience members tiptoed, jumped and dodged the laces to avoid tripping, as Ho marched around the space trailing them behind him. While serving as a metaphor for navigating dense cities and convoluted situations, another inspiration behind the work stemmed from things accumulating as we age, just as the shoelace lengthens. 'As you get older you have more responsibilities,' says Ho. 'More restrictions, more memories. It all adds on.'
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
This week in PostMag: from Milan's Chinatown to nomads in Malaysian Borneo
My best ideas always come when I'm in motion. For years, that movement came through cycling through Shanghai's tree-lined streets, legs pumping until I arrived either at some kind of breakthrough or my destination, whichever came first. Now, my most productive brainstorming is relegated to the interminably long walks underground on either end of my commute. (Getting out for a proper Hong Kong hike is on my list, promise.) But like many things, it turns out that my experience is, in fact, far more universal than I'd imagined. Perhaps there's studies about the link between moving and ideas – is it increased blood circulation? The cacophony of the outside world forming white noise to cocoon us in our own thoughts? Whatever the reason, movement as the cure to a creative block is a frequent refrain among the artists we interview. Hong Kong photographer South Ho Siu-nam is one of them, discovers Aaina Bhargava in our cover story this issue, as he describes walks around Sha Tin as his remedy to get unstuck. There's a poetic quality to his art – considered black-and-white cityscapes overlaid with coloured grids he describes as a meditative process that's connected to memories of his late father. Ho currently has a solo show on view at Blindspot Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, and you have until June 7 to catch it. Reflection and introspection is also a journey that Esslin Terrighena finds herself on, albeit farther afield in Malaysian Borneo. She writes about what she learns from her time spent with the Penan, a once-nomadic hunter-gatherer community. As the world around them has modernised, they've adapted while maintaining a connection to the forest and land – offering lessons all us city dwellers could take on board. Changing communities are inevitable wherever you are in the world. John Brunton explores Milan's evolving Chinatown, a neighbourhood rich with history that's developed its own Chinese-Italian identity. And what's more? There's a Hong Kong connection, too. It's home to Trippa Milano, the sister restaurant of Central's own Testina. I hate to leave you on a grim note, but I fear I must. The final remaining feature in this issue centres on Christopher Munn's new book Penalties of Empire. Fionnuala McHugh dives into Hong Kong's history of capital trials, which, thankfully, came to an end in 1966. It may not be a light read, but it's a fascinating one.
South China Morning Post
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Performance art by South Ho makes a point about Hong Kong's red lines under security law
There were hoots of laughter as the artist South Ho Siu-nam performed his new live performance piece during the May 10 opening of his exhibition 'Wandering Daily' in Hong Kong. Wearing a pair of plain white, basic trainers laced up with different ends of the same 100-metre-long shoelace, Ho strutted around Blindspot Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang in faux military style, dragging a long trail of white string through the crowded room in his wake. It caused mild mayhem as members of the audience scuttled out of the way or became awkwardly entangled when they refused to budge. Me, My White Sneakers, and Shoelaces was Chaplinesque in its comedy and just as serious. This was an illustration of Hong Kong's reality since the introduction of National Security Law in 2020: there is still a lot you can do – the shoelace gave plenty of slack – but the line is always there. South Ho performs Me, My White Sneakers, and Shoelaces at Blindspot Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong, on May 10, 2025. Photo: Ray Leung courtesy of artist and Blindspot Gallery 'Wandering Daily' is his first solo Hong Kong show since 2019 and it is a quietly impassioned response to how socially engaged artists continue to stay true to their art despite the new red lines.
