Attended the video installation works in "Tempestade / Unwetter / Tempest, curated by internationally-renowned curator Alfons Hug, who originates from Germany and active in Brazil. Also got to know GianFranco Foschino from Chile, the young artist who made a very beautiful and picturesque landscape vertival video that re-question how we perceive nature. I like that work very much indeed.

He introduced me to two other video masters' works in the show, namely Reynold Reynolds (US) and Guido van der Werve (Holland). Reynolds' "Secret Life" is a combination of performance and very fine video techniques that produced both intriguing and disturbing visuals.

Guido is the highlight of the exhibition, which is a 21st century echo to the German Romantic period. I am so happy to have a chance to see his heart-stiking images, particular at this juncture of my life, when I wanna get to the core of feelings.

Visit gallery of Goethe Institut-Hong Kong for more!

Movies on the Mind

(photos provided by Kristina Jaspers of Filmmuseum Berlin)

Ever since the birth of cinema, there existed a continuous dialogue between "psychology" and "cinema" and pyschoanalysis has always offer a synificant platform for film critics to discuss about movies. Say for example: What fascinates the moviegoer about the fictive world of images on the screen? How do directors tell stories about repression or breaking taboos?

It is not as difficult to produce a book on related studies, but surely a courageous move in making it visually comprehensible via an exhibition space. I am therefore very excited by the exhibition “Movies on the Mind. Psychology and Film Since Sigmund Freud", conceptualized and realised by my curator friends in Filmmuseum Berlin.

(Poster graphic design by Jan Drehmel )

The exhibition offered its visitors the opportunity to literally put themselves on “the couch,” to experiment with their own perceptions, to catch on to the tricks of directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, G. W. Pabst and Woody Allen, and to observe their works in another light. All of these are connected with the latest findings from film historical, psychological and neurological research.

The show, originated from Berlin, is now toured to the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Science, L.A and could be seen there till September this year. More details in: http://www.freud2006.de/

Collective Memories in Movie Posters

The Hong Kong Film Archive has a poster collection covering some 4000 titles, ranging from the 50s to the present. This archival treasure represents a history that span through harsh time in the post-war period and also the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the 80s and 90s. The poster design and printing methods varied to a large extend and whether you appreciate the look of if or not, it is a rare chance for the originals to be put on display and a precious moment to revive collective memories.

As curator of the show, I have used a kind of "yin vs yang" idea to turn the exhibition hall in two sections of black and white, the former for displaying agressive and visually strong images from "kung fu" or "sexy" genres, the latter for displaying "comedy", 'romance" and "dramatic" film posters.



Due to the vast quantity, the selection will be shown in two phases according to the historical periods and will be toured to Tuen Mun Town Plaza in mid-July.

香港電影資料館自開館至今已搜羅得超過四千部香港電影的海報，由50 年代到今天的，片類繁多，設計和印刷都各具特色，從中可窺見電影過去數十年所走過的歲月，無論是艱辛的戰後，或是蓬勃的八、九十年代；無論是你喜歡或不喜歡的色彩或圖案，再次曝光亦是難得的歷史舖陳和感性的集體回憶。 由於量多的關係，展覽將按海報的年代分兩期展出，亦將於七月中移師到屯門市廣場一樓中央廣場展出。

香港電影資料館展期 Exhibition Hall, Hong Kong Film Archive：
第一期 /Phase I (1948 to 1978)： 23/6 – 19/8/2007
第二期 / Phase II (1979 to 2006)： 25/8 - 1/10/2007

屯門市廣場展期Main Atrium, 1/F, Tuen Mun Town Plaza：
第一期/ Phase I (1948 to 1978)： 22/7 - 12/8/2007
第二期/ Phase II (1979 to 2006) ：13/8 – 2/9/2007