Private Tour 

Guided Tour Guests: Tai Kwun Curatorial Team

This guided tour invites everyone to appreciate Tai Kwun's latest two exhibitions, namely 'Veering' by Hu Xiaoyuan and 'Pretopia' by Alicja Kwade.

Exhibition 1: Pretopia 

Artist: Alicja Kwade

Curator: Louiza Ho

Alicja Kwade: Pretopia is the artist’s first solo institutional exhibition in Hong Kong. Showcasing works that span different periods of the Polish-born artist’s career, the exhibition reflects on our perception of time. It also proposes new perspectives for viewing and understanding reality.

Pretopia shows nine works from her career, together with newly commissioned installations tailored to the history and architecture Tai Kwun’s F Hall. Within the symmetrical space of the exhibition, the artist has laid out a sculptural environment where each work relies on the presence of others. In a way, the exhibition can be seen as a multiverse.

Adept at drawing from abstract scientific and philosophical concepts, Alicja Kwade transforms them through a consummate use of materials, both natural and artificial. Her artworks frequently incorporate objects such as clocks, fluorescent tubes, clock hands, chairs, mirrors, metal gates, bricks, and rocks. Together, her works orbit around the examination and questioning of reality and social structures.

Alicja Kwade has moreover created her first site-specific installation in Hong Kong, Waiting Pavilions, specially commissioned by Tai Kwun Contemporary for the Prison Yard. The work investigates the passage of time in the setting of a former prison, bridging the past and present within this landmark heritage site.

Exhibition 2: Veering

Artist：Hu Xiaoyuan

Curators: Pi Li with Shuman Wang

Veering is part of Tai Kwun Contemporary’s new Breakthrough series, which underlines emerging artistic positions through solo presentations, commissions, and innovative formats. 

Is breaking from our predetermined paths the only way to true awakening? In Veering, the artist Hu Xiaoyuan presents 12 newly commissioned works from 7 series, weaving together installation, sound, painting, and video to reveal the complex relationship between human destiny and natural evolution, addressing ultimate questions of individual survival and the meaning of life. Hu incorporates everyday materials like Aerospace grade aluminum, sea shells, organza silk, and corn fibre in her works. Through translucent drapes and lighting design, she creates unique pathways that blur the line between day and night, creating an ambiguous spatial experience. This setting guides visitors to reflect on enduring themes such as time, materiality, existence, and consciousness.