Present Encounters : Papers from the conference of the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1996

Recently, a new curatorial perspective has been developed at the Arts Centre. Instead of looking at Hong Kong and its cultural identity, we have been looking at China as seen by Hong Kong. As we will soon be part of China, it is only sensible to ask the question , 'What is this "China" we are talking about?' I n an exhibition entitled , 'Being China (Being Hong Kong)', we add ressed the issue of the rapidly emerging zeal of nationalism actively promoted by the Chinese government. Through the work of Hong Kong artists, the exh ibition showed the wide range of definitions of 'China': it might be the literati China of the Sung Ming mountain and misty landscapes; it might be the symbolic China of Yin Yan and the d ragon; or it mig ht be the China of Shanghai duri ng the 1 930s. I nteresti ngly there were, relatively speaki ng , few artists who saw China as communist, and these artists tended to be the younger ones, who were more critical of the existing Chinese authorities. The same ethical questions thus came up as we organised this exh ibition which had obvious politica l overtones. Is it being unfair to the artists to put them onto a political platform - although I explai ned the cu ratorial goals of the exh ibition . 'Being China (Being Hong Kong)' highlighted the relativity and ambigu ity of the definition of a nation . The move from trying to solidify and identify a distinctive cultu re to dismantling the concept of nationalism appears to be self-contradictory. I n fact, it is a natural outcome of the serious study of Hong Kong culture. Social and political developments du ri ng recent yea rs have, i n fact, insisted that a distinctive characteristic of Hong Kong culture is its ability to accommodate other cultures, merging and utilising them. This pluralistic nature which leaves plenty of space for i ndividuals is one of the main factors behind the economic success of Hong Kong . A strong sense of cultural identity is important, especially when you are faci ng a powerful culture backed up with pol itical and military might. It is equally important, however, in the zeal for a regional identity, not to simplify the complexity and multifaceted nature of modem culture . I n early 1 997, as one o f t he programs o f t he Hong Kong Arts Festiva l , we plan t o focus on t he various different cultural groups which compose Hong Kong people: t he I ndians, Filipinos, Europeans, the Euro-Asians . . . who a lso contribute to Hong Kong culture. As we approach 1 997, these are the Hong Kong people who are i ncreasingly marginalised . Like everybody else, I do not know what will happen after 1 997, and like everybody else, I do not know what kind o f role my profession will continue t o play. But isn 't i t a curator's job t o be constantly searchi ng , redefin ing and responding to whatever situation is happening around us? To be or not to be part of China, that is not the question. We have no choice. We j ust have to face it. 1 . Hong Kong Economic Journal, September 1 7, 1 996. 2. After the riot in 1 967, in a political attempt to soothe social tensions and to resist Chinese influences, there was an active promotion of a ' Hong Kong identity' by the Hong Kong government. 3. Who the first Chinese artist studying art in the West was, remains a highly debatable topic. Li Tie Fu was definitely the first Western-educated artist with a notable career. 4. Co-curated by Oscar Ho and David Clarke. 1 02