Join us for a talk with artist Anson Mak sharing her insights on video art and experimental documentary in Hong Kong during the 1990s. This event is part of Another Day in Hong Kong, currently on view at AAA’s library.
The main difference between documentary and narrative film lies in the fact that the former generally lacks fictional plots and instead uses real-life events as creative material. However, documentaries differ once again from news footage—the perspectives of the creator and processes of post-production editing add an additional layer of interpretation to what is recorded by the camera. In the context of contemporary art, how do experimental documentaries differ from the mainstream? How might video artworks that incorporate creative elements affect our understanding of “reality”?
During the rise of video art in the 1990s, artists began exploring the mediums of video and experimental documentary to address and document personal, social, and historical issues. Recognising the possibilities, Anson Mak also began to produce works in video. In this talk, Mak delves into her early video and experimental documentary works to explore the reasons behind the popularity of video art in 1990s Hong Kong. The talk will also cover the main filming techniques and narrative strategies of the time, investigating the artistic language of experimental documentary. Through the “reality” captured on video, we can catch a glimpse of the landscape of 1990s Hong Kong.
Free and open to the public with registration. This event will be conducted in Cantonese, with no simultaneous interpretation provided.
Dr Anson Mak is a lens-based media and sound artist. Besides single-channel film and video, she also works in phonography sound art, sound design, and web-based projects. She is especially interested in experimental ethnography, essay films, and Super 8 film. Her film and video works have been shown at Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, and Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, among others. Her works in moving image have been featured in local and international institutions such as M+; Videotage; Hong Kong Arts Centre; Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei; Whitechapel Gallery, London; CAFA Art Museum, Beijing; Cornerhouse, Manchester; Crossing Art, New York; and AFIAS Spain Moving Images Festival, Madrid.
This event is part of the project Recalling Disappearance: Hong Kong Contemporary Art, which is financially supported by the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The content of this programme does not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
