Art From In-Between

Macau artists reflect on identity and change at Here and Now in Lisbon

by Luciana Leitão

Arts, Exhibitions
November 2, 2024

Translation Daisy Wong

Co-organized by the Art for All Society (AFA) and curated by José Drummond and James Chu, the collective exhibition of contemporary Macau artists entitled Here and Now marks the 25^th anniversary of the return of the Macau SAR to China, and is on show in Lisbon at the Union of Portuguese Speaking Capital Cities (UCCLA) until December 20.

The 25 artists presenting their works include some veterans of Macau’s art scene including Catherine Cheong, Rui Rasquinho and Alexandre Marreiros, as well as some younger ones like Angel Chan, Chiang Wai Lan, Felix Vong, Ieon Man Hin, Karen Yun, Kuok Hou Tang, Kun Wan Tou, Lai Sut Weng, Lei Chek On, Lei Hio Lam, Kit Lei, Leon Chi-Mou, Leong Chon, Leong Fei In, Leong Man Teng, MJ Lee, Season Lao, Sisi Wong, Wong Hio-Chit, Xixia Wu, Yao Mou In, Kay Zhang.

The artworks on display include paintings, photographs, watercolors, prints, installations, sculpture and video, with the artists focusing on issues that are still relevant today.

“There is a complexity living in an in-between space, between two cultures like in Macau,” José Drummond says. “There is still a very strong Portuguese identity here, and in this sense, you can see that Macau artists are different from artists from Hong Kong artists and Mainland China, because they live in this intermediate space. In this exhibition the artists reflect on their experiences and present works that take inspiration from both sides,” he adds.

Presented concurrently with Here and Now is another collaboration between three Macau artists. Ensemble brings together the very different styles of artists James Chu, Kit Lei and Eric Fok to create a harmonious whole and a sensory union.

“We manage to have this ensemble, like different musical instruments with different sounds, but which, together, appear in unity,” says the curator. “The exhibition begins with Erik Fok’s more critical and recognizable works, then moves on to the nature-inspired digital animations of Kit Lei, and ends with James Chu’s purer and more sensorial abstractionism.”