Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing | London) presents the artist Lee Kai-chung's solo booth (1C46) at the discoveries section in Art Basel Hong Kong 2024.
Inspired by human intelligence life stories during the Cold War, Tree of Malevolence is a research-based project that unveils the complexity of human nature and individual agency under collectivism. Intertwined and yet anachronic, the narrative unfolds how ideas crystallised into ideologies, and collective banality resulted in affective and mental disorientation.
An enigmatic narrator, Y, mumbles to herself in the shadows of a multi-channel video installation, conjuring up six incidents that have been purposefully moulded into unrelated events. The fragmented, chronologically disjointed narrative centres around six historical events that took place between the 1940s and 1960s – Y, who worked under her master in the 'Radio Communications Section', was assigned to work between Guangdong and Hong Kong, and also travelled by plane on business trips. Y was in charge of the first urban greening project in China's history, the square directly in front of the newly constructed entrance gate to the Canton Trade Fair. The fair is a rare opportunity to open the door to the world. Amidst the chattering of traders from Hong Kong, Macau and foreign countries, Y stayed alert for the intel from the north, which could create a butterfly effect in the political and diplomatic scene in the south. Y witnessed people thinking that they were keeping up with the times, and nobody cared about those who were left behind. She changed her name, conspired with people with swinging political stances, and worked alongside nameless comrades who could be friends or foes.
The project unearths individuals dissolved in the reclamation of unfulfilled promises through personal testimony, interviews, creative writing and archival records. Tree of Malevolence is a prelude to its mother project The Cold Mountain (2021-).
28–30 March 2024
Vernissage
Wednesday 27 March, 4pm–8pm
Public Days
Thursday 28 March, 2pm–8pm
Friday 29 March, 2pm–8pm
Saturday 30 March, 1pm–7pm
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)
1 Expo Dr, Wan Chai,
Hong Kong