Life is short,
and art long,
opportunity fleeting,
experimentations perilous,
and judgment difficult.
The words are from Aphorisms by Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, and after two millenniums and a half, they are still valid and insightful. We are living in a fleeting, perilous and difficult time, and it is hoped that art can guide us to once again scrutinising the nature of being human.
Beyond Borders presents kaleidoscopic views and comments on different borders in our society: race, gender, class, age, and so forth. The borders have generated and shaped by our concept and can be changed accordingly. There are certain taboos and transgressions can be re-examined during the Post-COVID 19 Era. Firstly, we question the validity of current globalisation; secondly, the exhibition considers visual arts as symbolic power understanding our identity; last but not least, the show explores democratisation of art by examining the means of communication instead of means of production.
In many artists’ interviews, we heard some words in common: fragility, uncertainty, power-struggle and identity, which are coded in their visual languages. And our experience unfolds more stories that have individual and collective characters.
It is hoped that Beyond Border can offer a cue or an open-end forum that invites views re-thinking about the nature of humanity.