The Works：HKMoA‘s two new exhibitions, Stephen Thorpe & in the studio: Rachel Cheung & Apollo Wong

Merry Christmas! Although museums are closed, we did recently manage to make a visit to the Museum of Art to film two major exhibitions of Chinese paintings and calligraphy. And of course we took our cameras with us.

Shortly before social-distancing and public gathering rules were tightened up again late last month, organisers were able to go ahead with a physical art fair, Fine Art Asia.
Some overseas artists managed to attend the fair despite the obstacles posed by the coronavirus. One of those who came was British artist Stephen Thorpe, who was here to open his first exhibition in Hong Kong at the Ora-Ora Gallery. The exhibition, “Semi-conscious”, showcased a new selection of works focusing on the artist’s own mind and the broader “collective unconscious” as affected by social isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic and by the digital technology on which we have come to rely more and more.

At Christmas most years, performing arts organisations like the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Hong Kong Ballet put on seasonal concerts and programmes such as “The Nutcracker” ballet. Clearly though, this year is not like most years. Initially planned for the 23rd and 24th December, the HKPhil’s “Christmas Fantasia”, a festive concert including music by Mozart and Handel, Chopin and Tchaikovsky, has had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, pianist Rachel Cheung and conductor Apollo Wong who were set to perform in the programme came to our studio to bring us a taste.