Emo Gym

joint exhibition

2022

JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong

curator : Erin Li

Artists: Dony Cheng Hung, Chloë Cheuk, Michele Chu, Jess Lau Ching Wa, Sharon Lee, Eason Tsang Ka Wai, Yim Sui Fong

這是個即使走在街上都隨時可能落淚的時代。也許你剛剛和兩年沒見的那個人通完視像電話；也許你最愛的書店或健身室下周就要關閉；也許你哥哥突然說他很快就要搬離香港；也許你在半睡半醒的上班途中突然瞥見地鐵裡的新聞報導……

「圓缺俱樂部」邀請七位香港藝術家審視、拆解、甚至擁抱這個時代中無處不在的脆弱性。他們真誠的作品創造出一個新鮮而親密的空間，邀請人們聚在這裡共同體會「圓缺」，在與藝術作品及身邊觀眾的連結中找到疏理和抒發心緒的新隧道。

這次展覽聚焦於貼近當今社會現況的三種脆弱性──親密關係中的敏感、生命體驗數碼化的衝擊、以及社會設置與個體自由間的矛盾。我們藉著作品發問：「脆弱」是否為生命及人類社會的一種恆常本質？儘管冒著未知的風險，展露、分享關於脆弱的經驗和思考或許不失為一種激發同理心的社群構建新策略？

We are living in such delicate times that simply going about on the street could bring tears to our eyes. Perhaps this came right after a video call with loved ones on the other side of the globe you had not seen for two years. Or perhaps your favorite bookstore or gym is closing down in the coming week. Maybe your brother suddenly told you he was emigrating soon. Or maybe you caught glimpses of some breaking news headline while on the subway.

emo gym—short for “emotion gymnasium”—calls on seven Hong Kong artists to confront, dissect, and possibly embrace the vulnerability of our times. Together, their sincere, poetic artworks invent an intimate yet experimental space, prompting visitors to uncover sentiments by discovering deep connections with the artworks as well as with each another.

Various forms of vulnerability are explored in the exhibition—vulnerability related to interpersonal relationships, digitisation of human experiences, and social institutions. emo gym raises the following important questions: does vulnerability constitute a fundamental state of human existence, and of the world we live in? Risky as it may be, would exposing and sharing nuanced senses of vulnerability catalyse a new world where we better co-exist with other emotional beings?