Spotting the light onto a light is the third solo exhibition of Sarah Lai with Gallery EXIT in Hong Kong. The exhibition is a continuation of the artist’s interest in the little gaps residing between the representation and the interpretation of objects. Domestic objects such as a desk lamp, a steam rack, a bottle of make-up remover and a lump of rock sugar are devoid of their usual context and appear as oil paintings and videos.
The objects painted in a pastel palette do not seem to function other than displaying the sculptural quality of light. The artist’s performance on video then activates these objects in an antithetical manner. In “Milky yellow cube”, a block of butter is emptied of its association as food. In its accompanying video “How to cut butter into a perfect cube”, Lai measures, cuts and smooths the yellow block, presenting it as the most malleable of clay.
Futile yet monumental, the represented objects sit both on top and below the pedestal, assuming autonomy and at the same time indulging in the personal, private and intimate experiences we cast onto them. The works reflect human projections onto objects that have lost their ontological significance and they are now open to new meanings.
Sarah Lai will be giving a talk on her artistic practice and her new series of works on Saturday 20 April 2013, 4 pm.
6 April – 3 May 2013
Gallery EXIT, 3/F, 25 Hing Wo Street, Tin Wan, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 1100 – 1800
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