O critiqued Art in Motion【一人一點藝評社 One Point Critique Society】

A Voyage to Homeland

The hand-drawn animation "Park Voyage II'' by Florence Lee has been displayed on a 288 sqm LED screen in Hong Kong International Airport. Muted. Caught in the middle of advertisements and five other video works from “Art in Motion”. The scaled-up version is somehow puzzling to those who have never gone through the original one.

The way Lee threads the Sha Tin bike lanes with varying pencil strokes and symbolic montage is poetic. But playing it without sound and music is a deadly blow, and the sunshine entering during the daytime spoils the experience. I watched it before my flight. Everyone sitting there rested their eyes on their breakfast in hand. No one showed any interest in that purple dreamlike space at all.

The HKIA Art and Culture Festival claims that the artworks target “travellers from all around the world”. I don’t know, soundlessly, what tourists would grasp from a fleeting glimpse of fluttering geometric shapes. I wonder. As the motion picture has been relocated and recontextualized, can its way of seeing be reinterpreted as well? The site, the airport itself is not just a transport hub welcoming foreigners, but also a nexus for locals leaving and returning home. Maybe "Park Voyage II'' is a series of Morse codes for HongKongers. The rearview mirror, yellow safety railing and mosaic tiles pattern in the tunnel serve as tokens of memory and impression of the city. I know only a small portion of the audience can truly synchronise with Lee's work. Yet I felt home. Even though the screen was showing an unrelated ad when I arrived at the meeters and greeters' hall after an exhausting trip. As long as I realise the work is exhibited there, a sense of belonging is generated.

The interpretation may seem unfathomable, but I believe some spirit has been instilled in the place. Compared to other directly presented art pieces in “Art in Motion”, the imaginary and abstract essence of "Park Voyage II'' allows it to have a site-specific meaning for the dwellers living here——a voyage to homeland.

Images were taken by the writer.

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Art in Motion

展覽日期：28/9 - 31/12/2023

展覽地點：Arrivals Hall A, Arrivals Level (L5), Terminal 1

一號客運大樓抵港層（第五層）接機大堂A

Facebook專頁：Hong Kong International Airport 香港國際機場