Curator's Note - Grace Cheng

「尋樂．經驗」希望為觀眾帶來不一樣的藝術觀賞歷程。「尋樂．經驗」是我個人策展經驗的一個嘗試。過去多年在不同社群中服務所取得的經驗，我深信藝術可帶來人身、心、靈上的改變，並優化生命。縱使近年中國當代藝術成為時尚，隨之增加了欣賞藝術的觀眾，但仍然有很多人誤以為藝術門檻甚高而敬以遠之。

世界人權宣言中第二十七條有言：「人人有權自由參加社會的文化生活，享受藝 術，並分享科學進步及其產生的福利；保護任何人創作的文學或美術作品而產生的精神的和物質的利益。」。我相信的並不是悲天憫人的心，而是相信人人生而平等，每個人均擁有創作及欣賞藝術的權利。在充滿壓力及焦慮的醫院裡，我親證藝術帶來動人的力量──曾經與很多病友一起創作，看見很多朋友從最初害怕拿起畫筆到最後「畫到唔肯走」，並對著自己的作品微笑的情景。曾經有一位婆婆喃喃自說：「老人家冇用啦，不要浪費畫具」。但當她見到自己完成的菊花水墨畫所展現美麗的笑容，她高興地說要與稍後來探訪的孫女兒一起再畫！相信藝術就是如此輕易接觸心靈並優化生命。

「尋樂．經驗」將使觀眾學習開放不同的感官欣賞藝術作品，運用身體的各部分去感受藝術作品所傳達的訊息。除了藝術家的作品，展場裡亦具備了不同的輔助器材協助有需要的人士，我們期望以靈活的形式拉近人與人之間的距離，鼓勵融和。故此，這是一個屬於所有人的展覽，期望能涵蓋不同年齡、教育、性别、背景和能力的人士。我們相信藝術的力量是有效的非語言溝通及表達情感的媒介，並可以帶來有趣、愉悅和滿足感。我希望是次展覽能更接近世界人權宣言中所追求的目標。

我與策劃小組同工們相信藝術即生活、欣賞生活和享受人生。「尋樂．經驗」強調兩大意義：享受及參與。享受藝術欣賞所帶來的富足的感情交流──可以是愉快的、悲傷的或是動腦筋的；參與及經驗則是透過不同的感官親身感受每件作品，當中滲透了各式與社區及生活有關的藝術經驗，相信能引起大眾重新在日常生活中探索更多平日忽略了的生活細節，並從作品所觸發的思緒中找尋樂趣。。我們更希望能在藝術和社群之間引起正面的迴響及討論，令展覽及藝術欣賞得到新角度的闡釋，打破以往固有的展覽經驗，再加上觀眾的積極參與，使展覽背後的真正意義得以全面發揮。

是次展覽選取了八件香港藝術館的藏品展，更邀請了七位本地藝術工作者運用不同媒介的物料，透過藝術品演繹他們對「參與」及「互動」兩者的含意。李天倫將貝多芬的第五交響曲化成實體雕塑，讓觀眾可逐一感應每個音符的舞動。黃慧妍的手繪香港藝術館的海報與印刷品並例，整個裝置形成一個強烈對比，孰真孰假，顯得耐人尋味；而她的另一件作品以香港人熟悉的紅白藍帆布製作傢俬，又是真假難辨的好玩意。周俊輝的作品是一副不能以一貫手法對打的麻將，讓你我思考如何面對有別常規的物件。何兆基以「磬」帶出不同知覺官能之間的聯通共感，打破個別官感的限制。又一山人的棺材是你我熟悉的家居物件，使親切感在身前身後都不減。李展輝的兩件作品，取材自大自然，使人們放眼於眼前，活在當下，感受細小事物傳達的廣闊世界。白雙全的由「一半」開始，創作二人合作才可完成的概念藝術，帶出「殘缺」和「完整」的迷思。李傑以手繪枱布招待親友午餐。徐松薇明言她設計的機動夥伴，可以解決人類的的控制慾和尋求夥伴的慾望。郭瑛的手繪日用品可會使你多加留意日常生活的美？伍韶勁收集遊客的相機閃光燈效果，為展覽遊人製作多媒體演奏會。在旺角長大的梁美萍回歸舊地，紀錄社區人群的日常生活，把我們熟悉的旺角帶到展覽場地，欣賞作品後，你可能會發現不一樣的旺角。程展緯在藝術館設置睡覺角落，恭候各位光臨，一同發夢製造美好未來。


It is the attempt of Charming Experience to bring extraordinary experiences of art appreciation to everyone of you.Charming Experience is my first individual curatorial project. From my services to different communities over the past few years, I came to believe that art can cause changes in people’s body, mind and soul and contribute to the betterment of our lives. Despite the skyrocketed popularity of contemporary Chinese art which results in an increase of art audience, there are still people who consider art aloof and resort to keeping a distance from it.

As Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.” What I hold onto is not a compassionate heart, but a belief that hails the equality of people who are entitled to the right to create and appreciate art. In a hospital environment heaped with pressure and anxiety, I have witnessed the power of art—making art with patients; some of them felt reluctant to hold the paint brush in the beginning but in the end they became reluctant to stop painting instead, giving oneself and the work an approving smile. I recalled once an old lady mumbled, “We old people are just useless; don’t waste your art tools.” Yet, when she finally finished an ink painting of chrysanthemum by herself, she was so pleased that she wanted to draw again with her visiting granddaughter. Seemingly, art touches the soul and enriches one’s life in a simple way.

Charming Experience introduces ways to open up the different senses of the audience to appreciate artworks and use the different parts of their body to receive messages in the artworks. Apart from artwork, there will be also a variety of support equipment for people in need. It is our hope to bring closer different people and encourage integration via a flexible form of exhibition. Thus, this is an exhibition of and for everybody, attempting to serve people from different age groups, educational levels, gender, social backgrounds and abilities. We believe in the effectiveness of art as non-verbal communication and a medium to express emotions; it is able to bring about fun, pleasure and fulfillment. I hope the exhibition can bring us closer to the pursuit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The curatorial team and I believe that art is life; it is about appreciating the everyday and enjoying life. Two emphases of Charming Experience: Enjoyment and participation. Enjoy the rich exchange of feelings brought about by the enjoyment of art appreciation, be it pleasurable, sad or bewildering. Participation and experiences are made possible by experiencing each artwork with different senses, a moment in which all kinds of art experiences related to communities and everyday life are aroused. This facilitates the public to re-visit and explore the details that are overlooked in our daily lives, and be inspired to look for more fun. It is also our hope to prompt positive response from and discussion among the art world and the communities which can encourage new interpretations to exhibition and art appreciation, and interrupt the typical experience of visiting an exhibition. With the active participation of the audience, the true meanings of the exhibition can be fully communicated. In the exhibition, eight artifacts from the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art were chosen for seven local artists to work with by using different mediums and materials, from where they derive their very unique interpretations of “participation” and “enjoyment”.Otto ”actualizes” Beethoven’s No.5 Symphony into a sculpture for the audience to feel the brandishing music notes. Doris’ hand-drawings copy the exhibition posters of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, placed side by side with the genuine prints to confuse audience about what is real and what is not. Another piece by Doris is pregnant with meaning; the “Red White Blue” plastic material amazes audiences with the playful idea of daily commodities. The dysfunctional mahjong of CHOW Chung Fai provokes us to question the unconventional practice of objects with which we are familiar. HO Siu Kee uses the Qing to demonstrate synaesthesia so as to break the boundary of individual senses. Presenting common household furniture, anothermountainman tries to retain his intimacy with the furniture before and after death. The two works by Danny are inspired by Nature, and he wants us to pay attention to every single tiny thing in daily life that could bring us the reflection of the world. PAK Shueng Chuen works out with the concept of ”half” and has created a conceptual artwork that takes two persons to complete, and invites us to think about the myth of incompleteness and the whole. LEE kit invited his mom and friends for a lunch at home and served them with his hand-painted table cloth. The mechanical “friends” made by Joyce is designed to be the perfect solution for human beings, to ease the human desire of seeking companion and the desire to control. Can KWOK Ying’s hand-drawings of commodities prompt you to pay more attention to the beauty of daily life? Kingsley has collected flashlights produced by tourists’ cameras and brings you a multi-media concert. LEUNG Mee Ping, grew up in Mongkok, introduces to us the Mongkok that we might have neglected and yet to be familiar with. Luke has set up some places for sleeping in the museum, wishing you a good dream of the future.