The Veil of Solitude is the first solo exhibition of artist Belinda HY Chan in Hong Kong, curated by Cyrus Lamprecht, both of whom graduated from the University of the Arts London. Chan explores the themes of change, life, and death in a series of paintings depicting dreams and the natural world: "Everyone wears a veil while expressing feelings. When we are in solitude, we may finally begin to understand ourselves, confronted with both bliss and dread.” This exhibition, sponsored by the Arca, is also an extension project of Lamprecht's TEDx speech, “Solitude is the Future of Humanity,” which examines the impact of solitude and absurdism on modern society.
When we have grown up, no one will comfort us in the dark with a warm embrace. People wait in cold silence while wearing some form of camouflage. When one is alone and wandering, emotions are hidden behind an invisible veil, yet at the same time, the true self emerges. All life comes from death, and people remember the joyful moments when things are withering. When someone is on the verge of succumbing to loneliness, they may retrieve shards of memories from the ground. Individuals may seek solace in solitude. The veil of emotion encircles our bodies, and our entwined hands are wedged in between the empty spaces, swaying along with life. People weave their own veils when they breathe the air of solitude.
Lift not the painted veil which those who live
Call Life: though unreal shapes be pictured there,
And it but mimic all we would believe
With colours idly spread:—behind, lurk Fear
And Hope, twin destinies; who ever weave
The shadows, which the world calls substance, there.
— Sonnet IV by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shelley, P. B. (1824). Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley (M. W. Shelley, Ed.) (1st ed, p. 225). London: John and Henry L. Hunt.
About Artist
BELINDA HY CHAN
Born in Hong Kong in 1993, Chan currently resides in Vienna. She attended Wimbledon College of Arts, University of the Arts London, and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Fine Arts. She has showcased her paintings in numerous exhibitions in London and Vienna, including “Vertical Merger” (Riverside House, London, 2021), “Devils, Gods, and Software Engineers” (Deptford Does Art, London, 2020), “Der Frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm” (Anatolia Schnitzel Gallery, Vienna, 2019), “Postopia” (Ugly Duck Gallery, London, 2019), and “Who Will Provide?” (Crypt Gallery, London, 2018), et al. Her work possesses an abstract, dream-like sensibility that blurs the distinctions between figuration, abstraction, and tales. It investigates the uncanny nature of the subconscious’s uncharted worlds and is driven by an intense sense of loss and longing.
http://belindahychan.com
http://instagram.com/gorillabelinda_art
[email protected]
About Curator
CYRUS LAMPRECHT
Born in Vancouver in 1995, Lamprecht currently resides in Hong Kong. He attended Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London, and earned a Master of Research (Art) degree in Theory and Philosophy. He has showcased mixed-media works (installation, performance, and photography) at Tate Modern (Tate Exchange) in London and multiple art exhibitions in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In 2018, he published his first novel, “Safran Mélancolique,” and was invited by the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, in 2019 to give a TEDx speech on the philosophy of absurdism. His works revolve around the propositions of solitude and being. He contributes art criticism, essays, and novels to multiple literary platforms in Hong Kong, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
http://linktr.ee/cyruslamprecht
http://instagram.com/cyrus_lamprecht
[email protected]
