Meditation through the arts is increasingly becoming a common practice. Local photography exhibition “Breathe”, hosted by the IaoHin Gallery, now opens a dimension of serenity and calm to visitors, quietening the chatter in our minds, and reconnecting us with our breathing.
“It’s time for our inner selves to breathe. Living in a gaming city with an increasingly rapid pace of life, we tend to ignore our emotions in order to take care of things that happen around us,” says Moby Kwong, the curator of the exhibition, who has studied and worked in the arts in many major cities around the world.
The problem with winning the rat race is that no matter what, you’re still a rat, and this ultimately harms your well-being.
“When we blindly pursue money and power, we cut off our feelings to our living environment, losing our breathing rhythm,” says Kwong. “This exhibition aims to articulate the need to cleanse our souls, speaking to what is within us.”
The selection of fine-art photography links up three award-winning photographers from three different countries: Irish photographer James Clancy, Winner of “Selected Title” at the prestigious Deutscher Fotobuchpreis 2012; Filipino fine-art photographer ReD Ognita, Silver Medal winner of the prestigious Prix de la Photographie; and local senior national photographer Chan Hin Io. Each has his very own distinctive style and techniques.
Putting aside his trademark documentary-style recording of the old faces of the city of Macau that are fast dying out, Chan decided to surprise the audience by exhibiting photos taken in the early days of his career, depicting some of the extraordinary scenery of China.
“My work aims to embrace nature, giving viewers a sense of tranquility, far from the hustle and bustle of our city. We have to give ourselves some time-out to breathe without any urban disturbance and unnecessary distortion,” says Chan.
