In our third edition of Satellite Exhibitions, we continue to connect local image makers with venue partners to create new photographic encounters in different corners of our hometown. Image makers this year have been provided with continuous guidance and support from established practitioners to present their work to the public. At the same time, we extended our open calls to collaborators interested in sharing our platform to promote concurrent showcases.
The 16 Satellite Exhibitions and 5 collaborator exhibitions this year explore a wide range of topics, such as the culture of technology, impacts of the pandemic, reflections on the body and inner emotions, memories of the city and nature. The idea of presenting these expressions and activities across Hong Kong is to encourage conversations between people of different ages and backgrounds, and explorations into different parts of our city; using creative practices as a means to deepen our connection with the people and spaces we co-inhabit.
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In 2019, shortly after graduating, Yuen Nga Chi worked as a photographer at a theme park. While photographing the park’s “attraction” animals, she noticed that the caged animals often appeared listless and, at times, displayed repetitive behaviours. This led her to reflect on the very existence of zoos. Taking this as a starting point, she began photographing the living conditions of captive animals in public zoos such as those in Hong Kong Park and the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.
The exhibition Panoptic Paradise: Stereotypic Behaviour is presented in two parts. At the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei, the work takes the form of an installation combining photographs and a screen. The screen shows live footage from the other venue, Mist Gallery at Fu Lai Plaza in Fortress Hill (note: due to logistical issues, this has since been changed to recorded video), along with an installation featuring a deer specimen, as if viewers were watching a zoo zone through a CCTV system.
The videos comprise multiple clips of birds. While working at the “park” photographing birds, Yuen noticed their repetitive movements and traces of struggle on their bodies. “Sometimes they keep circling, pacing back and forth. Sometimes they peck metal repeatedly, and can even bite their beaks until they break,” she says. From research materials, she learned that such repetitive behaviours are characteristic signs of stress or anxiety in birds. “Even if the cage is large, compared to the natural world it is still a very small place. Birds know their freedom is restricted, so they are prone to struggling behaviours. Most animals living in nature would not enter this state.”
Text and image courtesy of the Hong Kong International Photo Festival.
Learn more --
https://archive.hkipf.org.hk/events/panoptic-paradise-stereotypic-behavior-yuen-nga-chi/