Heading to Art Basel Hong Kong? Here are 9 smaller artworks to look out for
The halls of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre were charged with an electric energy as hordes of visitors—both local and international—descended upon Art Basel Hong Kong. Sounds of festive reunions, successful business transactions and art world chatter echoed through the high-ceiling halls. It’s no secret that art fairs are not the best backdrop in which to view art, but rather a space for discovering a wide range of artists and artworks. Usually, it’s the loud, colourful and sensational works that catch the eye—the volume of which—can sometimes feel overwhelming. However, sometimes the smaller pieces can get lost in the chatter. So, here’s Tatler’s pick of smaller, delicate, softer pieces, perfect for the city’s small spaces, which you might have missed.
Read more: Art month 2023: Tatler’s ultimate guide to exhibitions across Hong Kong during Art Basel
1. Tammi Campbell’s ‘Painting Bitten by a Woman with Gum Sculpture (After Hannah Wilke)’ (2023) at Anat Ebgi Gallery
Canadian artist Tammi Campbell replicates iconic artworks made by famous male artists from the 1960s and 1970s, but adds her own feminist twist—which often includes a bubble wrap, tape, or leaving an element slightly off. Upon closer inspection, the bubble wrap and tape are in fact made of paint, creating an illusion which becomes both a visual and conceptual barrier to the artwork, referencing the many barriers women faced in art history.
For Campbell’s Painting Bitten by a Woman with Gum Sculpture (After Hannah Wilke), a tiny tactile painting with a small sculpture to match, the artist replicates Jasper Johns’ Painting Bitten By a Man and pulls the paint from the top middle part of the canvas and marks the abscess with lipstick. She then moulds a sculpture out of the pulled-out paint and forms a shape resembling female genitalia. This gesture was an ode to famed feminist and 1970s’ artist Hannah Wilke’s S.O.S. Starification Object series of photographs, for which Wilke applied pieces of chewing gum folded into vaginal forms onto her semi-nude body.