curated on Joseph Chen

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:13:04 -0500

Region No. 43701-No. 43900 (1998) LED mounted on aluminium, circuitry

Miyajima Tatsuo born 1957, Japan works Ibaraki

Two hundred LED counters flash numbers between 1 and 99 in red and green in endless loops. After reaching 99, the counter returns to 1. Numbers with the digit 0, a symbol of finality and emptiness for the artist, are omitted. The work may evoke affectless computer code but was in fact inspired by Miyajima’s experiences in the hospitals he frequented as a chronically ill child. The continual flashing and counting of numbers illustrate the Buddhist concept of samsara, the ceaseless cycle of reincarnation.

June 10, 2025 / M+ / West Kowloon, Hong Kong

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 00:52:27 -0500

1234 (2008) single-channel digital video (colour, sound) 3 min. 33 sec. M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation

Zhou Tao born 1976, Hunan works Guangzhou

This work comprises photographs of morning staff assemblies at over forty shops in Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Shenzhen. During the assemblies, staff stand in military-like formation and recite chants. Zhou Tao edits and arranges the images according to the rhythm of the chants, showing how the collectivity of a socialist past has acquired a new function in the market economy as a highly effective governing tactic for modern corporations.

June 10, 2025 / M+ / West Kowloon, Hong Kong