「Ze/Ro」 策展人：陳瑞琦
布朗畫廊欣然宣佈將於2021年7月至8月在香港空間呈獻「Ze/Ro」展覽。展覽由香港策展人陳瑞琦策劃，是香港畫廊協會推出的暑期項目之一。香港畫廊協會的暑期項目致力於培養本土藝術社群，尤以青年藝術家為焦點，於香港這座充滿活力的城市，為會員畫廊、新晉藝術家、策展人和作家搭建合作的平台。
是次由陳瑞琦策劃的群展兼具思想性與話題度，展出五位在香港生活和工作的藝術家的作品。每位藝術家的創作均涉及身份、性別、社會和自我的主題，並反映一系列社會概念以及對去性別化的渴望。言及展覽主題，陳瑞琦表示：
性別是社會的建構物， 文化及傳統經常將性別角色定型而達到某種管理目的。值得我們關注的是女性和男性在社會上如何被自己或別人「再現」。為追求社會的性別中立，牛津英語詞典正式為去性別化作出回應，定立新的詞𢑥「Ze」去取替「He」「She」 來代表中性的第三方。富有力量而被讚崇的英雄— Hero，於文字上和現實中不再是「He」的專利，或許英雄的稱呼從此可叫作 Ze/Ro。
是次展覽透過五位藝術家區凱琳，陳家翹，周頴璇，林嵐，劉清華，說明現今女性如何自覺地意識到自己在社會上的地位和價值。 從而以身體和思想主動地發揮自身的創造力。不同世代的女性帶着不同的身份角色，去顯示一場知覺行動的成果。確認個人的獨特性和多元性才是主導者。作品探討女性由身體至思想上的各種感知 : 一個擁有賦予生命能力的載體，它的變化與能耐超越我們的想像；卻同時帶來幻想、情感牽引、甚至人生的學習。身體亦是自己最親密的聯系，動作和感應往往連結內心的回憶和思緒。作品也表現出藝術家於女性不同階段表達的自主、恐懼、浪漫與張力。當中包括生命的記錄，或純粹於生活中的一點自我沈思。藝術家脫離對性別的迷思，去呈現「Ze」的能量和面對事、物的敏感度。
我們誠邀您於今個夏季參觀香港畫廊，深入瞭解這些才華橫溢、富有思想的藝術家的佳作，並從中深入了解香港作為文化之都的重要地位。
Ben Brown Fine Arts is delighted to announce our forthcoming exhibition Ze/Ro at the Hong Kong gallery, from July through August 2021. The exhibition is organised by Hong Kong-based curator Shirky Chan as part of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association's (HKAGA) Summer Programme. Fostering the local arts community with a focus on young talent, the HKAGA's Summer Programme actively builds a bridge between its member galleries, emerging artists, curators and writers within this vibrant city.
Chan has curated a contemplative and topical group show featuring the work of five artists: Au Hoi Lam, Chan Ka Kiu, Christy Chow, Jaffa Lam and Jess Lau living and working in Hong Kong, each of whom addresses notions of identity, gender, society and self, framed by social constructs and desired dissolutions of gender. Chan explains:
Gender is a social construct. Culture and tradition are often used to shape the contents of gender stereotypes to prescribe regulatory social regimes. In this sense, the representation of female and male is still crucial in terms of how they are being projected by self and others in society. To enact gender neutrality and de-gendering in society, Oxford English Dictionary has officially adopted the new gender pronoun "Ze" instead of "He" and "She" to represent non-binary gender identities. As such, the powerful and divine word "Hero" is no longer the privilege of "He" in the world of linguistics and reality. Perhaps we can start calling it "Ze/Ro" from now on.
In this exhibition five artists, Au Hoi Lam, Chan Ka Kiu, Christy Chow, Jaffa Lam and Jess Lau, explore the nature of the female world where women empower themselves by embracing their creativity in the realms of body and mind. Cross-generational women in distinct identity roles transcend acts of self-awareness into rewarding outcomes, from which a sense of autonomy is recognised through one's individuality and multifaceted characteristics. Their works adapt the female's multisensory experience from body to mind: a life-giving bearer that embodies changes and endures beyond our imagination; whilst being the matrix for one to envision fantasies, emotional associations or even a learning process in life.
Body is the intimate site for one to reclaim memories and emotions through movements and sensations. The artists in this exhibition also disclose their autonomy, fear, romance and tension in different stages, all of which are traces in life, or put simply, a lifelong contemplation. Evaluated against the cultural orientation of gender, they acknowledge and exercise the power of "Ze".
We invite you to visit the Hong Kong gallery this summer to delve into the work of these talented and thoughtful artists whose work is reflective of Hong Kong's status as a cultural capital.