Artist Talk with Chun Wai (Conducted in Cantonese) & guided visit to "Adrift in Time - Photography by Chun Wai"

This exhibition presents the artistic work of Chun Wai created in France in the 1980s-1990s. Adrift in Time—Photography by Chun Wai displays a photographic record of the past and the passing of time. Born in Hong Kong and educated at the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Mulhouse in France, photographer Chun Wai toured Europe on a quest for the beginning of time, understanding that everything he photographed had a finite start and end.

This physical and philosophical journey caused the artist to realise that his insights into the relationship suspended between predestination and chance were leading to an expansive form of loneliness—a state he felt was similar to the torment experienced by the ancient Chinese poets. Chun wandered the streets and alleys of great cultural centres like Paris discovering the collections of its great museums, art galleries and flea markets, along with the vast memories contained within, preserved and passed on through the course of time.

For thirty years, Chun kept his images of France stored away in a box, as if preserving these treasured memories in a corner of time; a souvenir from which he can now extract memories. Since the ’90s, some of the negatives have deteriorated to the point that the original images are no longer recognisable. They have become tangible illustrations of the passing of time, while the artist’s memories reactivate his endless associations. Whereas it has been said that photography freezes time, Chun’s images and their varying states of damage attest to the flood of time. The reading of these images now leads to another journey, crossing the boundary between memory and forgetting, towards the subsequent truth of chaos.

時間的漫遊  秦偉攝影

此展覽為秦偉1980-1990年代於法國的藝術創作之結集。「時間的漫遊––秦偉攝影」展示了一組關於回溯過去及時間流逝的圖片記載。秦偉生於香港，畢業於法國米盧斯高等藝術學院。他曾遊歷歐洲，尋索時間的起源，領略所攝之事物，皆有定時，有始有終。透過這趟旅程，秦偉深悟人生乃在宿命與偶遇之間，頓感中國古代詩人飄泊孤寂之感。他遊走於文化之都––巴黎，穿梭於街巷、博物館、美術館和跳蚤市場，浪遊於浩瀚的記憶和時間的長河。

三十年來，秦偉將法國的影像儲於一個盒子內，猶如把珍藏的記憶存於時間長河一隅。相片如紀念品般，可從之擷取記憶。因相片攝於90年代，部分底片已破損，原圖已無法辨識，成為可觸及的流逝時間，亦同時激活藝術家的記憶，誘發他無盡的聯想。有說攝影可凝住時間，而秦偉的相片所受的各種破損，便是時間洪流的見證。現在來重溫昔日影像就如開展另一趟旅程，跨越記憶與遺忘的邊界， 步向混沌的本相。