The exhibition is a video installation consisting of 26 videos, slide shows and text captions. The videos are captured by telecine super 8 film, webcam, cellphone, camera and digital video of different qualities.

With Memory Disorder, Fong investigates how the temporality of memory comes into play. In our consciousness, the images that one sees prompt an associate with images drawn from our memory. This often triggers flashbacks and even imagined events. Our minds are often a sequence of randomly connected scenes. Is there an ordering for memories? Are they organized chronologically or dependent on one’s state of mind, or an inseparable mixture of both?

By using his biography as a specimen, Fong choreographs an experience of immerging in memories and imagination by letting moving images appear and disappear. The scenes are drawn from personal encounters with conflict, the youthful urge to search for something not known, people to empathize with and places imbued with affection. According to Fong, the work is an on-going fragmented narrative that raises the question: “do we want to forget, or not?”

-Aenon Loo

Exhibited in
《Memory Disorder》
Gallery Exit, Hong Kong

Installation views

Click here for screen shot of individual video (PDF by Gallery Exit)

Photos courtesy of the Gallery Exit

Video Documentation of Memoriescape

當代藝術&投資 Issue 45, 2010-09 P.49-53

《販賣偷來的時間》

作品《販賣偷來的時間》玩的是偷換概念。藝術家方琛宇在早上繁忙的時間，按停了住宅大廈的電梯，並拍下了電梯開門關門之間那匆匆的六、七秒。這幾十段六、七秒的錄像，按電梯內的人數，人的表情和反應，定價而售，每段片只售一次，錄像中已賣出的部份會換成「己售 – xx秒xxx元」的画面，聞說銷路極佳，所有「時間」售罄，作品最後只剩下文字交代各片段的長度及賣出的價錢。

這個作品的題目及其表面的意義之所以引人注目，在於它聲稱自己不但可捕捉一閃即逝的時間，而且還能偷去販賣，它聲稱可挑戰時間的絕對性。但藝術家所販賣的絕非時間，而是影像。那天早上，電梯乘客(藝術家的可憐的鄰居)有那麼幾秒本不該這樣花的時間，這些時間是絕無法被重朔。結果被販賣的是時間被掠奪過程的影像紀錄，而非時間本身，結果那無辜的幾秒是誰都沒拿到︰藝術家沒有、購買者也沒有。

至此，觀眾和讀者不難意識到，被偷換掉的兩個概念就是「時間」和「影像」。

此外，作品的另一部份是販賣的行為。由於錄像可複製，購買和收藏錄像藝術使人卻步，而在《販賣偷來的時間》中，錄像竟以時間之名義被販賣，錄像假借了時間之絕對獨特性，藝術家創造了一種幻覺，似乎有效制約了錄像的量及其價值。

故此，這個作品的結構是這樣建立的︰亂按電梯本是香港小朋友愛玩的惡作劇，等電梯、乘電梯那點呆滯的、令人不耐煩的時間也是避無可避的香港生活經驗。方琛宇通過這個計劃，將此經驗變成一個藝術主題、一個邏輯遊戲，並利用作品中概念的混淆而將之包裝為似乎合理的商品。

《跟蹤陌生人》

人們不斷強調私隱，訂立法律保衛私隱，同時又急不及坦露和干犯彼此的私隱。Facebook勢如破竹地超越Google成為全球最受歡迎的網站，與Facebook相比，Google簡直是一個嚴肅公正忠誠可靠的圖書館管理員!人們登入Facebook時，會不會意識到自己正置於一串無窮的目光之下？Facebook上「朋友」不斷連接，朋友永遠都有朋友，而「朋友的朋友」遙不可及，可以是你一生都不可能遇到的人、或者一個你極其討厭的人，故此「朋友的朋友」就是大他者，是全世界。你某些不願公開的事蹟或照片，隨時被某某認識你的人(甚至不是「朋友」，僅僅是認識你的人而已)發佈在Facebook上，你寶貴的私隱如何被公諸於世，你不會知道，更遑論阻止。

Facebook的可怕之處正在於此︰即使你不參與，你也避不過它的目光。它的基本動力即是人所共有的好奇心(偷窺癖)，這種慾望會不斷被發大，永不滿足，特別是在虛擬的網絡世界。

方琛宇的作品《跟蹤陌生人》是一個自製的網絡平台，在此他從Facebook或其他網站，收集了任何令他感興趣的別人的資料，並羅列出自己何以對此人產生興趣、對他/她的印象、及想結交他的目的和動機。這裡，藝術家在擔當窺視者/跟蹤者的角色，同時也反思自己追蹤這些人背後的目的和慾望。在這個倒置了的社交網站上，焦點並不在於陌生人的照片和資料是否真的有趣，而在於藝術家在追蹤陌生人時的心理活動的坦露，而這些多屬無聊、平庸的所謂「動機」，多少揭示了在網絡社交中，與陌生人發生「真實」的關係往往無關緊要，最重要的是在窺視陌生人的世界時好奇心獲得的滿足。

凝視、被凝視和消失的凝視者

作品《轉眼》是藝術家在巴士旅程時拍下沿路兩旁的風景，片中不斷有途人向鏡頭投以好奇的目光；而在《等待》中，藝術家偷偷拍下了在時代廣場上等待的人的面貌。《轉眼》在裝置上有所設計，仿製了搭巴士的視覺經驗，不難令觀眾感到形式上的趣味；而後者，我們則很容易把它放進Walker Evans及Helen Levitt以來的城市紀實攝影傳統。

事 實上，這兩個作品都是圍繞藝術家一直關注的主題發展出來的。《轉眼》中出現陌生的普通人，他們的面貌、表情和目光，是日常繁忙中短暫一刻的影像紀錄，這與 《販賣偷來的時間》在本質上是一樣的。《販賣偷來的時間》強行中斷人們的電梯旅程，以吸引了他們的目光；而在觀看《轉眼》時，我們則無法確定吸引路人目光 的東西到底是什麼。這個作品的趣味在於︰我們在觀看這個作品時，代入成凝視的主體，並通過那些陌生人的目光和表情想像自我，換言之，別人就是鏡子。

比 起《轉眼》，《等待》在主題和技巧上都更樸實無華︰時代廣場上那些等待的人普通、陌生、無所事事，拍攝他們並無特別的社會紀實性。這些人只能是純粹審美的 客體，但同時又是一種平庸的美學，而由於是偷拍，凝視者消失了，再一次我們走到這樣的矛盾中，即作品的重點到底在於客體之美還是主觀偷窺產生的快感？從這 作品看來，形式和觀念結構愈趨簡化，方琛如似乎愈來愈著迷於這普通人演出的平淡的戲劇。

]]> http://silasfong.com/news/?feed=rss2&p=1122 http://silasfong.com/news/?p=1067 http://silasfong.com/news/?p=1067#comments Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:41:08 +0000 silasfong http://silasfong.com/news/?p=1067 http://www.silasfong.com/memory/

2011  Web Page
Approx. 10 mins depends on internet connection speed

Is there an order for memories? I wonder how they are arranged so that the scenes in our mind somehow appear randomly. Are they organised according to chronological order or according to the relevance of one’s state of mind? Cinema to me is an art of memories.
Cinema works with how the images that one sees are associated with the lost and remembered images and imagined ones. It manipulates the perspective and the perception of time by the audience. In this work I try to create an experience of memories and imagination by letting moving images appear and disappear. Footage ranges from telecined super 8 film, web cam, photographs and digital video cameras at different qualities. It is displayed in a web browsing environment in multi-channels. With different internet connection speed, system of the computer and the dimension of monitor, the work can be viewed differently in the sequential arrangement and content narrated.

Exhibited in
《The Order of Things》a net video art exhibition
Netfilmmakers, Copenhagen, Denmark
Videotage, Hong Kong

Screenshots

Upcoming

Past
Celeste Prize 2009 Entry Form
30 June 2009

Videoholica 2009
20 June 2009

OK Video COMEDY - 4th Jakarta International Video Festival 2009
15 June 2009

Bloomberg Emerging Artists Programme 2009
11 May 2009

Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards 2009 (香港當代藝術雙年獎 2009) Chin Eng
3 May 2009
Application form Chin Eng

Rhizome, New York, US
2 Apr 2009

Ars Electronica 2009, Linz, Austria
6 Mar 2009

The Rijksakademie Residency 2010, Amsterdam
1 Feb 2009

The Cartier Award 2009, London
5 Jan 2009

Second Young Writers’ Debut Competition, HK (年輕作家創作比賽)
20 Dec 2008 First Round
18 Apr 2009 Final

Singapore International Film Festival
20 Dec 2008

Cinema du Reel, France
30 Nov 2008 for registration, 30 Dec 2008 for submission
Submission

OPEN e v+ a 2009, Ireland
28 Nov 2008, delivered to Ireland on or before

Asia Cultural Council - Fellowships and grant, Hong Kong
15 Nov 2008 (Extended)

International Film and Video Awards, HK
14 Nov 2008

80+1 A Journey around the world
31 Oct 2008

Live Herring, Finland
- digital animation
- net art
20 Oct 2008

Design your sac competition, Hong Kong
13 Oct 2008 (Extended)

Inaugural Exhibit Artist Submissions, NYC
1 Oct 2008

Augen-Blick 2.0 - Mirroring China, Berlin (德國 “視界 2.0 - 鏡像中國”)
26 Sep 2008
——————————————————-

Call for entries/proposals/artists:
Artistsonline.biz
Art Deadlines List
Asia Art Archive
Film Festival World
Public Art News Taiwan
鏡像中國 Sinoreel.com (Chinese)
VAAA Art Blog

Artist Residencies:

Germany - Follow Fluxus, Wiesbaden(By Nomination Only)
Korea - Gyeonggi Creation Center, Gyeonggi-do
The Netherlands - De Atelier, Amsterdam
The Netherlands - Rijksakademie, Amsterdam
Taiwan - Taipei Artist Village, Taipei

Res Artis
Artist Residency Program Directory by Hong Kong Art School

Grants:
Asian Cultural Council
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant

The sunken belongings of a flight passenger were recalled back into the air.

Screened in
Brian Eno’s Music for Airports: New Audio–Visual Counterpoint for Aenon Loo’s music under the same title

朝空
2010 數碼錄像
高清/彩色/15分30″

航機乘客沉沒於水的隨身物被召回空中。

放映
布賴恩．伊諾的《機場音樂》：當代音影實驗現場音樂會與羅家恩的當代音樂作品共同演出

Performance view

Video stills

Working for a job at Hollywood Road in Hong Kong for more than a year, I often see workers taking rest from their very hard work, they are smoking, lying and chatting at some hidden places. These may be their real moment of freedom and space in their daily lifes. In search of the community in their realistic and idealistic lifes, I try to represent the spaces of these people of working class with their private space, time, characters, dialogue (monologue) and imagination.

Exhibited in
《Re-Orientation》 Former Married Police Quarter, Central, Hong Kong, 2010

在荷里活工作
2010 雙頻數碼錄像

高清/彩色/無聲/ 43分

在上環荷里活道工作一年多，午飯時間常看到一些工人在隱敝的街巷中，三五成群抽着煙、躺着。他們忙裡偷暇，享受着僅餘的自由時間和空間。
我嘗試將上班一族的私人空間、時間、人物、對話和我對他們的想像重現，尋找社群中現實和理想的生活及城市空間。

展覽
《擺渡》香港荷里活道前已婚警察宿舍, 2010

Video stills

Video Excerpt

as I sleep from shallow
as I see from sunset
as I hear the sound under lids
from what you found and did
The feet get wet and the hair are drunk
On the way I sweat and sunk
- Ant Ngai

Exhibited in
《Mirror Stage》Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, Hong Kong, 2009

小睡
2009 數碼錄像
高清/彩色/ 聲音/ 5′30

展覽
《鏡子舞台》香港視覺藝術中心, 2009

Video stills

When American photographer Walker Evans trawled the New York subway taking his “subway portraits” at the end of the 30s and early 40s, he anticipated the collective anguish and alienation of the metropolis. With a hidden camera, Walker Evans would take the portraits of his unsuspected sitters, bringing the art of portraiture into the realms of life in the 20th century. In similar ways, Silas Fong adopts strategies that continue this research well into the 21st century. But as times have changed, the camera is shown in full flare, challenging the sitter to react, or to model suitably. Many things have been transformed after Warhol’s 5 minutes of fame or Guy Debord’s Culture of Spectacle, resulting in new behavioral patterns. On the other hand, life in the Big City – New York or Hong Kong – still is a fertile terrain for solitude, and as the artist puts it well: anonymity.

The place of the human being in the metropolis and the multiple possibilities of socialization have been major preoccupations for philosophers and artists akin, as 20th century meant society moved deeper into the urban landscape. Recognition of the Other and its nature has most intrigued us. Translating ourselves into the public space, where fortuitous encounters are fostered, has provided us with an ephemeral knowledge of the Other. These issues have informed Silas Fong most recent production: “Stolen times for sale”, “When the door opens” and “Surveil the strangers” are good examples of this research within his work. Digital technology, including video, web access and mobile phone, update this sociological quest. A definition of each project explains the procedures and rules that the artist has established. For “Stolen times for sale”, the artist writes: “The performer steals time from strangers through pressing the buttons of the elevators”.

In his works there is a reflection on the notion of time. The video “When the door opens” shows footage of the brief instant when the doors open at a MTR train, at the same time the artist sets the footage into slow motion, effectively “freezing” time, providing us with a contradicting measure of the rhythm of the urban web. The accelerated path in this interstitial “locus” suddenly becomes a choreographed series of beautiful movements that capture our imagination. It is in the idea of the expansion of time, where we revel, and where he delves into the nature of this time based media. As we always want to be supersized, this concept of expanded time suitably fits into our 21st century essence.

“Stolen times for sale” is another of his recent projects that deal with related issues. On this occasion there is a performative edge to the video. Although the performer is hidden behind the camera and we only witness the consequence of his action. His simple action – pressing the elevator call button – generates a sequence of reactions. We suddenly view the occupiers of the elevator peer through the open door. It also connects with this notion of relayed or expanded time, his actions originating a relational performance. In a second stage of the project, during the public showing of the video, the gallery visitors get the chance to purchase these “stolen times”. As Silas Fongs describes: “The video sequences once sold are replaced by “SOLD – XX SECONDS FOR $ XXX”. This results in the video becoming a work in progress, subject to continuous transformation, where the end would only come when all the sequences have been allocated with new “owners” of this time.

It was only natural that Silas Fong turned his eyes into the public bus system, having already explored the MTR as a ground for his work. Bus transportation invested him with a higher number of possibilities related, not only to the subjects of his videoperformances, but also to the surrounding urban landscape. His latest work, takes us into the realm of experience. The artist is not just preoccupied with the production of the images, but this time he applies the idea of circulation to his videoinstallation. Armed with a video camera inside a bus, he shot from the left side of the bus, thus filming a footage that shows us the life on the other side of the window. Passersby are invited to react to this filming as the artist reuses some of his tactics. The resulting video is exhibited in a real life size two channel projection; the visitor being sandwiched in between the two screens showing mirror like images. This idea of spatialization of video connects with the development of the genre of the installation. Sculptural qualities are linked to the moving images, enhancing the experience of the viewer, who at this stage is transformed into a visitor. Other issues, such as the representation of the real are also brought in through this strategy, adding complexity to what was originally a simple idea. Although the themes of Silas Fong’s work go back to the origins of video and its relation to experimental cinema, the way he resolves these dilemmas are only possible with the current technological and conceptual development. This is because of the way he uses space, but most importantly because of the use of a 16:9 panoramic ratio, which enhances the cinematic aspect of the work and points towards a departure from 70’s videoart.