Destiny is not a good friend
Hunt Gallery (Toronto)
April 14 2023 – May 27 2023

Destiny is not a good friend was an exhibition of photographs in 2023 at Hunt Gallery in Toronto. The collection of works were made between 2020 and 2023 in Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City and feature a consistent atmosphere of entropy. The creation of the works were driven from a personal reflection on the political and ecological developments of both cities. The works include Spill Over Pictures, four photographs called “Ideology Pictures”, four photographs called “Shadow Slacker”, and two large photographs called “Liquid Night” and “Growth Pressure”.

”Ideology Pictures” is a series composed of a golden hammer and sickle that has been broken down into its constituent components. The components are arranged to form anthropomorphic faces that suggest sorrow, happiness, flirtiness, and anger. Behind the components is an abstracted view of Kowloon during a rain storm from the perspective of a telescope located in the Kowloon Tong neighbourhood. Hong Kong Island is reflected in the mirrored surfaces of the hammer and sickle components.

“Shadow Slacker” is a series of photographs that depict a concrete wall in the Tai Kok Tsui neighbourhood of Hong Kong. The concrete wall features undefined shadows that were cast from swaying foliage and trees during a typhoon. Each work in the series is pierced with steel barbs.

“Liquid Night” and “Growth Pressure” are photographs that mimic the effect of a malfunctioning advertisement light box. “Liquid Night” depicts a fish swimming in a cloudy tank that was caught by the artist’s uncle in southern outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City while “Growth Pressure” depicts plants that are pushing against a glass fence in the Fan Ling neighbourhood of the New Territories in Hong Kong.