Between Image and Index: HKBU Parallel Exhibition of Art Basel, Hong Kong

As the Chief curator of the exhibition "Between Image and Index", it is a multi-site, practice-led research exhibition that investigates the contingent nature of pictorial forms within contemporary material and technological ecosystems. Staged across a distributed spatial constellation—encompassing the Koo Ming Kown Gallery (Kowloon Tong) and the AVA Gallery (Kai Tak Campus) from March 18 to April 12, 2026—this project orchestrates a critical cross-regional dialogue between the academic community and the Hong Kong contemporary art scene . Featuring works by 33 artists and collectives from major global cultural nodes (including Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Lisbon, Kraków, and Katowice), the exhibition serves as an active inquiry into how contemporary images operate not merely as stable representations, but as dynamic agents mediating experience, authority, and truth.

The core research addresses:
How do pictorial structures operate when decoupled from representational closure?
In what ways do material contact, indexical traces, and technological mediation organize collective attention and belief in everyday life?

Significance
By capturing the exploratory creative practices of a diverse cohort of international artists during Hong Kong Art Month, this project establishes a foundational methodology for a longitudinal, multi-year research initiative. Conceived as an annual iterative platform spanning the next 6 to 9 years, the project aims to map and formulate a "predictive history" of International Contemporary Art, cementing Hong Kong’s position as a critical locus for both high-level academic research and global cultural production.

Research Rigour and Methodology:
- Curatorial methodology is explicitly articulated: site-responsive spatial constellation, cross-regional dialogue, and situated encounter as modes of inquiry.
- Selection of 33 artists/groups is justified by their engagement with material traces, technological mediation, and indexical registers.
- Documentation is embedded and reflection protocols that with well received by the public, the response includes a high rate of engagement with social media, including a Weibo post about ‘Between Image and Index’ that has over 38,400 views, as shown in the electronic version(s) of this work below (RGC required)