Ling U

To walk abroad is, not with eyes,

But thoughts, the fields to see and prize;

Else may the silent feet,

Like logs of wood,

Move up and down,

And see no good,

Nor joy nor glory meet.

         – Thomas Traherne

Else May The Silent Feet ( 行走的人 ) is presented by the Department of Digital Arts and Creative Industries at Lingnan University. Co-curated by six students in the Master of Arts in Curating and Art History programme, the show will bring together the work of five Hong Kong artists: AK Kan, Wenda Yiu, Fiona Lee, Lo Lai Lai, and Wong Chun Hei to investigate the concept of walking.

Walking will be examined not only as footsteps in our daily life, but also as a gesture of opening up to the ecological world, a unique way for us to live, perceive, and think. Inspired by T. Ingold and J. L. Vergunst, the exhibition approaches walking “as a practice to humbly re-connect with the world, aesthetically and ecologically." The artistic practice of these five artists begins with walking through and around mountains, farms, fishponds, and islands of Hong Kong. They explore the natural side of Hong Kong and contemplate how people, animals, and plants coexist in this city while posing philosophical questions on imbalances in their relations.

In Hong Kong, we noticed that people would often be immersed in their phones during the journey, leaving no time to appreciate the surroundings. Could this be happening because of the fading natural scenery, or because the pace of living is too hurried to slow down? In this exhibition, we hope to provoke interest and curiosity about nature in visitors and encourage them to walk into and rediscover the beauty of Hong Kong.

Trying to keep up with the city's rapid pace of development, Hong Kong people spend a great amount of time commuting, and are often seen immersed in their phones with no time to appreciate their surroundings.

The artworks of these five local artists are a way to express their sensitive perception of Hong Kong. For a long time, this city has been a fast-growing international financial center, but the intensive workload and the constant rush of affairs have forced citizens to adopt 'urban-style walking' to keep up with the city's rapid pace of development. Under such a busy agenda, attempts to solve housing and land issues have been made, and the natural landscape of the city has started to change and even disappear. It has become apparent that not only has this non-stop development made us think of walking as hurrying to accomplish things, but also caused a great impact on the natural environment. As a response, local Hong Kong artists aim to shift the focus from the modern city to the natural landscapes of Hong Kong in their artworks.

AK Kan presents a soundmap as a guide of the local aural world, and the raindrops sound installation, which shows the tiniest and quietest sounds of nature, inviting the audience to listen to nature consciously and carefully. He often hikes around local mountains to record and archive the natural sounds of Hong Kong.

Wenda Yiu creates paper sculptures and gathers materials to recreate the landscape of vanishing islands in Hong Kong influenced by urbanization. She makes journeys to areas which still resemble old islands or keep memories of them and collects fallen dried leaves trying to preserve the original outline of the city in her work.

Wong Chun Hei portrays Hong Kong landscapes during his hiking trips around the city. The sketches he makes during the hikes unite his feelings and memories of the wilderness which become the sensations indispensable to the final paintings.

Lo Lai Lai replaces the human perspective of looking down on nature with the perspective of birds and fish, observing the peculiarities of nature at a micro level. As a farmer, she takes short but regular walks among plants and other creatures in rural areas, pondering how people get along with nature.

Fiona Lee performs an improvised walk, wandering around a fishpond at the edge of the city and trying to build a harmonious connection between people and nature. She travels to the countryside in order to be closer to other creatures, understand their behaviour, and adapt herself to a new environment.

In this exhibition, viewers will experience walking in the city and nature through the lens of art, observing various creatures from different perspectives, reflecting on our existence and the ecological world we inhabit.