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Mobility	‧ Open
WMA Open Photo Contest Exhibition
Date: 18 Feb - 31 Mar 2019
Opening hours: 10am - 7pm Monday to Sunday
Venue: WMA Space, 8/F Chun Wo Commercial Centre, 23-29 Wing Wo Street, Central, Hong Kong
This exhibition, curated by Hilda Chan and Iven Cheung, showcases photographic works of the 3 winners for the annual theme "Transition" including Caleb FUNG, Suet-sum LAI, and SHEK Chun Yin and 7 finalists including CHEUNG Siu Hoi, KOU Choi Sin, LO Yuen Ching, SIU Wai Hang, Mono TUNG Chiu On, Beatrice WONG and WONG Sanders.
Curators' Words
Ten artists with completely different backgrounds and experience brought their unique insights to bear on the theme of 'Transition'. From individual stories full of memories and poetry, to studies of urban development patterns, from reflections on photography as an artistic medium, to the search for historical memories buried in obscure corners of the city, they use their lenses to expand our awareness of the time and space through which we are transitioning.
Art spaces are in a continuous state of 'transition', with curators and managers constantly planning, mounting, and taking down exhibitions. With every opening, new opportunities and possibilities take shape. While celebrating the first exhibition in the WMA Space, we are also eagerly looking forward to future exhibitions and the impactful new works they will bring.
About WMA Open
WMA is a series of programmes developed to spark discussions of social issues of great importance to Hong Kong through visual images, with a view to fostering positive change. Each year, a theme is chosen for the programmes. Themes explored included "Poverty", "Air", "Waste", "Identity", "Mobility", "Transition", and "Opportunity".
Among the WMA programmes, WMA Open is a photo contest which welcomes every member of the public to submit themed images and engage in discussions over them.
WMA Open was also initiated to serve as a public platform for discussion and a springboard for social transformation. To continue the conversations sparked by photo submissions, WMA maintains a gallery of photo entries that are accessible for educational and non-commercial uses under Creative Commons licenses (open.wma.hk/gallery/). The submissions also document the photographic history of contemporary Hong Kong.
Transition (2017/18 Year Theme of WMA)
Transitions manifest before a turn. They are the in-between: the progression, the regression, the metamorphosis that transpire ahead of change. As intermissions, transitions are forgotten because they are so brief—neglected, because all eyes have shifted to what has transpired. As extended lulls, transitions offer space for rumination, guided by the transformation in sight. As indefinite pauses, they trap one in limbo, where the only constant is uncertainty.
In literature, transitions signal change, bonding rows of text together as one. In science, they are the movement from one state of matter to another. In nature, transitions are the graduation from one stage in a life cycle to another; the cumulation of air, heat and moisture ahead of a storm; the moment before a child is born.
Across the globe, diplomatic affiliations are shifting; governments are changing hands; energy systems are inching towards sustainability; alternate gender identities and sexualities are preparing for their time to shine. Meanwhile, the lives of millions of displaced individuals continue to be put on hold. In Hong Kong, a transition occurred when a fishing village morphed into a metropolis; when its sovereignty was transferred from Britain to China; when autonomy was brought into question. The transfer of sovereignty came with the promise to leave the city unchanged for five decades—but in a city of transition, any promise of changelessness could sound empty. For the rest of us, transitions simply mean the progression from one life stage to the next; waiting in one line after another, constantly transitioning, until we wander into the queue for a final resting place.
We now invite you to capture the shift, the transformation, and experience the in-between—however fleeting, however endless, they may be.