House of Red House of Blue 紅屋與藍屋

At the urban edge of our city the tension is building up, the old system is collapsing quickly and you can smell anxiety in the air: the fear of being engulfed by the other side. The opposition assumes our city is their ideal city, we think our ideal city is another island similar to ours, across the ocean. Hostility, hatred, and violence grow larger and larger under the banner of Nationalism. We thrust ourselves into this dark tunnel with devotion and passion but in the end we are making no difference.

The artist has been inspired by the recent escalating Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict where our society became politically polarized. This pavilion is made of abandoned tree trunks and recycled wood collected from 250 pallets. Inside, a library resembling a ‘metaphorical forest of light and shadow’ displays political books of opposing viewpoints about Hong Kong and Mainland China. Visitors can sit down and read quietly. The artist and his assistants built the pavilion themselves and utilized the traditional Japanese Shou-sugi-ban (burnt wood) method to create the charcoal effect on the wood, symbolizing transformation and destruction.

城市邊沿的邊緣, 氣氛愈來愈緊張。舊有體制正被迅速崩潰，空氣中漫延著快將被對方吞噬的恐懼。對方假設我們的城市是他們的理想城市，我們卻認為我們的理想城市是在大海彼岸，與我們相似的另一個島嶼。敵意，仇恨和暴力在民族主義的旗幟下日益增長。我們懷著忠誠和熱情，投進這個黑暗的隧道。但最終，我們跟他們的局面,未能造成分別。

藝術家被最近持續升級的中港矛盾所啟發。我們的社會不斷兩極化。這個展館是由被廢棄的樹幹和由250塊卡板回收得來的木材所建成。內部是一間圖書館,收藏了有關中港矛盾,正反論點的書籍。參觀者可在形似“光影組成的森林”內坐下來靜靜地閱讀。藝術家和助手團隊親手用傳統的日本燒杉方法處理木材。木炭效果不但有防水防蟲的效果，更象徵著轉變和破壞。

Recycled burnt wood, tree trunks, & political books    

20.5m(L) x 14.5m(W) x 4m(H)    

2013

Shelters of Resistance 反抗避難所

A leading figure in the Hong Kong art scene, artist Kacey Wong presents for the first time in Paris an exceptional in-situ installation in the courtyard of the 4th district City Hall. He will also conduct a special site performance for the Nuit Blanche 2015.

Transforming USELESS into USEFUL, Kacey Wong works from recycled and burned wood to build shelters in different size and shapes. These primitive huts are meant to reflect the contemporary realities, whether social, political or economical: they are at the same time shelters for the homeless, the unemployed or for refugees, havens where to find peace and liberty from oppression and even intimate spaces for dialogue and sharing in a world where individuals communicate less and less. Pockets of resistance, they also echo the democratic movement called the Umbrella Movement which took place last October in the streets of Hong Kong. 

Wong will also perform the Celestial Fortune Telling during the ‘Nuit Blanche’, aiming at creating a peculiar and deep dialogue with the audience: within one of his shelters he will install a temporary Chinese style temple and will predict the artistic future of the public.

The process of building the shelters is part of the exhibition, and the artist will be present on site to meet the public until the opening on October 5.

This exhibition benefits from the support of the Burger Collection

2015

Manufactured Date & Expiration Date 製造日與到期日

I had a chat with Uncle Tai about mortality once. He told me that he knows an Indian photographer, who one day went with a bunch of beautiful models onto a luxury yacht for a photo session. After a day of hard work, he decided to sit down and take a rest, and passed away just like that. Uncle Tai smilingly said, ”Not a bad way to go. I have told my wife that, when I die, she will organize a boat party, with lots of friends enjoying themselves. The only rule is: you cannot get off the boat until you are drunk.”

Would you make the same arrangements for your future, if you know how many days are left in your life? The concept of this work combines selfie and “time limit”. The participant will hold a piece of wood with his birthday and his hypothetical “end date”, and, standing in this burnt-out box, take a selfie. This work should lead you to reflect on the limitations of our existence, to live each day as your last, to accept that which is out of your control, and to cherish what you have got.

有次和泰叔談生死，他說認識一位印度裔的香港攝影師，有天帶同一大班美女在豪華遊艇上拍照，辛苦工作了一整天，在船上坐下休息時，就這樣離開了。泰叔笑說「這樣離開好像也不錯！如果有天我不在，會讓太太搞個海上派對。邀請大家開開心心飲一場，唯一的條件是，不醉，不准上岸！哈哈哈！」

如果你知道自己還有多少日子，明天的安排會否不一樣? 這件作品的概念結合了自拍照和「限期」。參加者拿着一塊可以填寫生日及假設「到期日」的木板，站在被烈火燃燒過的木箱內，給自己拍一張自拍照。作品引導參加者反思存在的局限，把每一天當作最後一天活著。接受你不能控制的，專注你當下最珍惜的。

Burnt recycled wood & chalk

920 cm (L) x 920 cm (W) x 214 cm (H)

2016

The Force

This sculpture was produced one year after the 2014 Umbrella Movement protest in Hong Kong. The work was inspired by police brutality against the protesting students which caused a lot of students & citizens brutally injured. A Hong Kong Police Force emblem constructed by recycled wood was set on fire to create this piece. The artist back then predicted so much injustice created by the Hong Kong Police Force will one day lead to its own destruction and be burnt, that prediction has finally become a reality in the year of 2019.

Recycled wood & fire

2015

Drift Exile Saloon

Drift. Exile Kacey Wong Solo Exhibition

Hong Kong contemporary visual artist Kacey Wong explores spatial and political issues relating to living. This exhibition will feature his renowned work Paddling Home boat house that sailed the Victoria Harbour, Wandering Space bike designed for independent singer/activist Denise Ho (HOCC), nostalgic 60’S wooden cottage mobile home entitled Wandering Space II, and custom designed tricycle, The Election bike for chairman of League of Social Democrats Mr. Avery Ng for his recent LegCo election campaign. A site specific Wild West style saloon installation was created for this exhibition featuring videos of all 4 works. 

流浪 . 放逐 - 黃國才藝術個展

當代視覺藝術家黃國才探討由居住所產生的各種空間及政治議題 ，是次展覽將會展出他曾於維多利亞港漂浮表演的成名作「漂流教室」、為獨立歌手何韻詩 HOCC 所創作的「流浪太空號」、 充滿 60 年代木屋區懷舊色彩的「流浪家居二號」、 為「社民連」主席吳文遠先生拉票所創作的「選舉號」、 以及探討西部牛仔獨立精神，武裝起義的「獨立靶場」，現場還裝置了一間用回收廢木製作的大型「流浪 . 放逐」西部酒吧。

October 7th - 30th, 2016

Feather of Yellow Bird

A friend who took part in the 1989 Student’s Demonstration in Beijing once told me that the days before June 4th was China’s version of Woodstock Music Festival. Students and citizens gathered around singing, dancing, discussing democracy, and imagining a better world after China becomes democratized, the square was filled with love and hope.

I want to create an artwork conceptually focused on the days before June 4th when people still have hope. After the annual June 4th Candlelight Vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, volunteers collected the candle stubs and then passed them to me. Each burned candle contains a person’s mourning towards those who sacrifice themselves in pursuit for democracy, as well as one’s longing for democracy, a mix of complex emotions. I recast these candle stubs into a feather’s shape. Before the feather dropped to the ground, it was a flight of idealism— a feather, light but heavy, engraved in memory for 30 years.

Acknowledgement:

Volunteers of the Justice & Peace Commission of the H.K. Catholic Diocese

黃雀的羽毛

一個朋友，親身參與過1989北京六四民主運動集會。她告訴我，「六四」之前在廣場的日子，就是中國的「胡士托」(Woodstock)。學生和民眾們在廣場唱歌跳舞，討論民主，推想有了民主之後更美好的中國，充滿了愛和希望。

我想創作一件關於「六四」前，人民還擁有希望的作品。維園「六四燭光晚會」完結後，義工收集了大量公眾人士用過的悼念蠟燭轉交給我。每一支燃點過的蠟燭記載了一個人，紀念追求民主的犧牲者和渴望民主等複雜情感。我把這些蠟燭溶掉，用模具轉化成羽毛雕塑。羽毛從天空掉下之前，曾為理想飛翔。一根羽毛，輕而沉重，銘記三十年。

鳴謝：天主教正義和平委員會義工

2019

Recycled candles collected from Victoria Park’s June 4th Tiananmen vigil

Instant Skyline Workshop 瞬間天際線工作坊

The skyline of our city is rapidly changing, but unfortunately the citizens who live there usually cannot participate in the creative process of the city. This interactive installation art project allows the participants to construct their mini skyscraper sculpture out of recycled wood. When finished, these sculptures will be display in a continuous a row creating a new skyline next to the Victoria Harbor, juxtaposing against the buildings across the harbor and bringing forward the contrast between the imagined and the real. Special event [Symphony of Lights (Citizen’s Version)] will be hosted on the last day of the exhibition; you are welcome to bring in small lightings to decorate the building sculptures.

我們的城市面貌正在急速地改變，可惜在城裏的市民往往不能參與它的建造過程。本互動藝術計劃將讓觀眾利用回收來的木頭建造出富有個人特色的摩天大廈雕塑，大眾完成作品後將放於西九海旁展出創造出一條更人性的天際線，與維港對岸真實的大廈作比較，帶出理想與現實的對比。展出最後一天還有[ 幻彩詠香江(人民版)] ，到時歡迎自備小型燈飾為大廈群作裝飾一起參與。

Recycled wood & wheat Grass    Dimension various    

2011

Memory of the Forest 森林的記憶

I heard the animals in the forest are slowly disappearing. In the name of progress and development, deforestation took place in the jungle and the original habitats of the animals were destroyed in an unprecedented scale. The animals in the forest cannot adapt to the drastic change of the environment and heading towards extinction. The trees that once provide shelter for the animals got transformed into industrial product, then further turned into garbage and buried at the landfill in a very short time. Inside the memory of the animals that once lived in the forest, they would remember us as Destruction, Disappearance, and Death. These sculptures are made by recycled wooden crates, it encourage the viewer to sit inside and to look at our world from the animal’s perspective.

聽說，森林裏的住客正在慢慢消失，人類以發展之名不斷大量砍伐樹木以至動物原有的生態環境遭受前所未有的破壞，森林裏的動物因生活環境突變，無法適應而步向滅亡。曾經是動物安樂窩的森林變成了工業產品，再變成了填海區的垃圾只是一瞬之間。破壞、消失、死亡就是曾經在森林裏居住過的動物，對人類的記憶。這些雕塑是由回收的木板改造而成，觀眾可以走進雕塑裹面去，由動物的眼睛看看世界去反思人類對自然的被壞。
Sponsored by Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation
 (Students helper:  Wong Chun Kit, Mok Hiu Suen, Chan Yu Him, Wong Chi Kin, Tim Yan,  Chiu Leong Yee, Terry, Kolour Leung, Yeung Yiu Mau, Hiu Wing Sze, Cheung Tik Ki, Chan Kwan Yin, Lau Lai Yee, Lau Chun Wai, Roy, 
Chan Chun Yat, and Sam)

Recycled wooden pallets   Dimension various    

2009

Death by Amputation 切斷之死

Imagine having your arms cut off and left to die at the bottom of the ocean just because some aliens from the outer space enjoy the view of your arms in their soup. This sculpture depicts the torso of a dying shark, with its fins cut off alive, sinking slowly towards the bottom of the coral reef. There must be a lot going on in the shark’s mind on its way down towards the deep. How does one all so mighty ends with such a horrible death?

Recycled wood, acrylic sheets, flashing lights, fire    

2013

Spring Bird (Bill Eater) 春鳥 (吃帳單的雀)

Spring Bird is a mail box made of recycled wood material featuring a copper ‘stomach’ comissioned by Spring Workshop the art organisation. The main concept is based on the idea that we hardly receive any personal mail from the post nowadays since everybody are using emails to communicate instead of writing letters. The contemporary mailbox is now reduced to a container that exclusively for junk mails and bills, lots of bills! My idea is to transform daily boring mail retrieval routine into an act of fun and game. The postman will drop the mail (mostly bills) into the beak of the large abstract bird sculpture as if he/she is feeding the bird. The owner of the mailbox opens the stomach of the Spring Bird much later, hoping by this time the bills will be predigested a bit and conceptually reduced, at least in the mind.

Recyled wood & copper sheet    

permanent installation at Spring Workshop  

2012

Ballball Cat 波波貓

Recycled wood, framed photographs

111 cm (W) x 136 cm (H) x 100 cm (D)

2014

Eco Drumset 環保鼓陣

My large octopus Eco Drum Set is finally completed after working on it for few months! The research involved interviewing famous drummer Jun Kung regarding drumming, going to the Yan Oi Tong Eco Park Plastic Resources Recycling Centre. That trip really changed my lifestyle, after seeing so much garbage generated each day in the city. The Eco Drum Set is composed of recycled wood and plastic material; it is basically a large scale musical percussion instrument that can generate different beat tones. This project  was organized by The National Geographic Channel, it is part of the Hong Kong Clean Up project. 

Recycled wood, plastic barrels, found cooking wares, & lights    

515cm(L) x 370cm(W) x 250cm(H)    

2013

Plastic Talks 膠談

What is garbage? Who have the right to distinguish what is useful and what is useless? The primary material of this percussion musical instrument is made of plastic parts collected from the local plastic recycle center. All you need to do is to contribute some creativity; even a pile of seemingly outdated and useless things can be regenerate into something useful through creative assemblage. It’s time of existence in the world can be longer and can be useful through rebirth.

什麼是垃圾?誰去區分有用?無用? 此作品主要物料是由塑膠料回收場收集得來,透過重新組合裝置,創作出來的敲擊樂器。只要肯花點創意,一堆看似過氣無用的東西, 透過重新組合便可延長它們存在於世上的時間,重生成為有用。

Plastic road blocks, plastic buckets, metal pieces    

2012

Cardboard Project 紙皮計劃

How does one come up with the concept of value within the density of the city? What does one have to give or take in order to survive? The ‘Cardboard Project’ is a collaborative project with local cardboard scavengers from the street to investigate the meaning of urban survival and value.

我們在此緊迫的城市生活中是如何衡量價值的?為了生存到底付出了甚麼?又得到了甚麼? “紙皮計劃” 試從最基本的買賣紙皮開始,透過與紙皮拾荒者溝通、交易、轉換等去探討城市生存的價值及意義。

(with Jaffa Lam)

Recycled cardboards, string, water    

2009

Green Tong Lau Workshop 綠色唐樓工作坊

香港城市的面貌急速改變，舊唐樓紛紛倒下，取而代之的是重重高聳的玻璃幕牆大廈。社區中的人性、守望相助的關係亦隨着社區的重建而慢慢消失。本地藝術家黃國才將以木頭工作坊的形式，以回收來的木頭與大眾互動，參加者可利用這些木頭砌出自己理想的唐樓面貌，引發我們對社區生活發展的感想。到時藝術家更會為大家準備一些新鮮的青草和泥土，參加人仕可把青草種在自己的木頭藝術作品上，完成後會將掛在藍屋旁空地的入口鐵欄上，作為入口牌匾綠化及大眾參與的公眾藝術展覽之用。

Recycled wood & wheat grass   dimension various    

2012

Building Making Buildings Workshop 樓樓起樓樓工作坊

This is a story, a story about the city. The main character of this story is a not so significant and soon to be forgotten building. It doesn’t remember when it was constructed and it doesn’t remember the faces of those people it once lived with. In its lost memory there seems to be a mission, yet it cannot remember exactly what it is. It drifts in the space between reality and utopia, endlessly searching for an ideal city.

Drift City is an installation art exhibition about an imaginary city. The viewer stand inside the museum facing the spectacular view of Victoria Harbor then using the wooden blocks that was pre-prepared by the artists to construct their ideal buildings. Each building is representing an individual’s dream and the viewer join together to create a city that is truly representing everybody. Installation artist Kacey Wong will perform his Drift Building inside the museum. He also would host three Personal Skyscraper wearable architecture workshop for the children at the museum, don’t miss it. Let’s work together to accomplish the dream of utopia for Hong Kong. This exhibition is sponsored by G.O.D. The Lifestyle Store.

這是一個故事，一個有關都市的故事。這故事的主角是一間不甚起眼而且快將被遺忘的大廈，它記不起自己是何時被建造，更記不起曾經與誰人一起生活過。在模糊的記憶中它好像有一個使命，但它始終想不起來。它遊離於現實世界與烏托邦之間，不斷尋找它的理想都。

遊離都市是一個關於幻想都市的裝置藝術展覽。觀眾於藝術館內面向維港境色，利用藝術家早己預備好的大量積木砌出他們心中的理想居所。每一大廈代表一個個人的夢想，觀眾創造一個真正代表個人的幻想都市。裝置藝術家黃國才於展出期間穿大廈衣服演出遊離大廈，帶領參觀人仕一起創作；另加摩天大樓穿著建築兒童工作坊，齊來完成創造烏托邦的夢想。是次展覽由G.O.D.住好啲誠意贊助。

2001

Secret H. Q. 秘密基地

When we were a child, we used to follow our parents to Chinese restaurants. The conversations above the table were usually boring but the space underneath the table was exciting. We hid underneath and transformed the space into a playground of our own, running away from the grown ups. Now suddenly we become grown ups ourselves and those who used to be above the table are slowly disappearing one by one. This work is dedicated to those who used to play underneath the table and refuse to grow up.

小時候，我們跟著大人到酒樓吃飯，大人的對話往往沉悶無比，但在枱底下卻是另一片天地！我們躲在枱底，把那片空間變成樂園，拒絕與大人為伴。在跑跑跳跳的日子裡不覺間我們忽然變成大人不復年幼，而在枱面聊天的大人們亦已一個一個離開。本作品是為紀念層經在枱底玩樂，拒絕成長的朋友而作。

Recycled wooden pallets     

300cm(W) x 300cm(L) x 170cm(H)    

2008

To Think About The Same Thing Twice 同一件事情想兩次

I often heard people say Do not think too much or You are thinking too much about it.  Yet there is this old Chinese saying of Think thrice before you act. How many times one should think about the same issue? We often arrive at different perspectives of the same thing after thinking about it more than once. The event itself did not change; we do.
經常聽到旁人說:「不要想得太多。」「你想得太多了。」，但古語卻有云凡事要「三思而後行」。那麼同一件事情思考多少次才算適合？從不同角度看同一事往往會有新意思。事情本身沒有改變，變的，是自己。

Recycled wooden pallet    

550cm(L) x 100cm(W) x 300cm(H)    

2009

Sitting On A Whirlpool 坐在漩渦之上

Human being creates a lot of useful objects but at the same time left behind equally large amount of waste. This problem is a serious crisis which worth sitting down and to contemplate about it. This art work utilizes abandon wood strips which was once treated as junk, now recycled into something useful again. What is useless? What is useful?

人類不斷創造大量有用的東西，但同一時間卻遺下了更多無用的廢物，這個問題己到了水深火熱的地步，真是要認真坐下反思一下。此作品利用廢棄了的木條再造而成，把好像無用的廢物再次變有用。什麼是無用？什麼是有用？

Recycled wooden pallets    

460(L) x 300(W) x 117cm(H)    

2007

Cave, Death, Bears, Peanuts 洞穴、死亡、熊、花生

Wood & brass wire    

127cm (L) x 51cm(H) x 30cm (D)     

2008

Rabbit Chair 兔子座

Recycled wooden pallets    

124cm(L) x 81cm(W) x 51cm(H)  

2008

The Horror (Installation) 恐怖事

Each day from the newspaper we can see many horrible things happening in the city. This installation transforms the forgotten public space of the city and turning its garbage into a meaningful piece of artwork. It was installed underneath the Island Eastern Corridor; the beautiful lights emanating from the city becomes its backdrop.The viewer engages the work form standing ashore with a flashlight, as if they are witnessing a crime scene with curiosity and excitement.

每天報章上都可以看到很多恐怖事在我們的城市裏發生 。此作品是一件利用城市遺忘了的空間和廢物製成的公共藝術裝置。它潛伏於東區走廊底部暗處，燦爛的都市是它的背景。像看報紙那樣觀眾站在隔離的岸邊；帶著好奇和探險的心情與這作品遇上。

Installed at Oil Street underneath the Island Eastern Corridor

Cardboard, adhesive tapes, paint, fishing wire, & glue

500 cm (L) x 60 cm (W) x 120 cm (H)

1999