BEYOND
BORDERS

Curated by
Joshua Gong
Han Hongzheng

Life is short,
and art long,
opportunity fleeting,
experimentations perilous,
and judgment difficult.

The words are from Aphorisms by Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, and after two millenniums and a half, they are still valid and insightful. We are living in a fleeting, perilous and difficult time, and it is hoped that art can guide us to once again scrutinising the nature of being human.   

Beyond Borders presents kaleidoscopic views and comments on different borders in our society: race, gender, class, age, and so forth. The borders have generated and shaped by our concept and can be changed accordingly. There are certain taboos and transgressions can be re-examined during the Post-COVID 19 Era. Firstly, we question the validity of current globalisation; secondly, the exhibition considers visual arts as symbolic power understanding our identity; last but not least, the show explores democratisation of art by examining the means of communication instead of means of production. 

In many artists’ interviews, we heard some words in common: fragility, uncertainty, power-struggle and identity, which are coded in their visual languages. And our experience unfolds more stories that have individual and collective characters.  

It is hoped that Beyond Borders can offer a cue or an open-end forum that invites views re-thinking about the nature of humanity. 

Thesis 1:
Globalisation

After five-hundred-year of globalisation, we achieve so much that not only had we scaled the surface of the earth, but also the micro-view of our inner body. With the expansion of society and the advancement of science, we are able to see and somehow mark our territories in the invisible worlds. Nevertheless, our desire remains a double-edged sword, carving a new path to happiness on the one hand and causing disastrous mistakes on the other. In the Post-Modernist Era, technology has already made the cost of means of communication more affordable. The online exhibition is also in the process of democratising the field of art.  

We cannot change our Janus-faced nature, but we can speak up and try to listen to the innermost plea: artists create and being seen.  

We believe in various and colourful expressions in art and dare not be sumptuous to assume a conclusion.

Thesis 2:
Virtual exhibition
Conservation challenge

Coming soon…

Thesis 3:
Regions & Cultures

Coming soon…

Thesis 4:
Digital Reproduction
Tangible Experience

Coming soon…

Thesis 5:
Gender issues in art

Coming soon…

Thesis 6:
Individuality in
collective societies

Coming soon…

Thesis 7:
The value of tradition in
contemporary art

Coming soon…

Thesis 8:
Information flow + Empathy

Coming soon…

Thesis 9:
Art in a dystopic time

Coming soon…

Thesis 10:
Art as a means of convolution

Coming soon…

Please contact:
Joshua Gong (joshuachinnery@gmail.com)
Han Hongzheng (hanhongzheng92@gmail.com)