^{Ben Quilty (b.1973), Rorschach, Joe, Paris Oil on canvas 140 x 90 cm}

Curated by David Ho Yeung Chan, the group exhibition is a study of figuration in art featuring work from five artists comprising Du Zhenjun, Ho Tzu Nyen, Li Ming, Gatot Pujiarto, and Ben Quilty.

Examining the visual language of figuration and the varied interpretations of bodily association through the use of different media, the exhibition explores the processes in which an artwork’s characteristics originate from the visual representation of an idea, illustrating how the most direct way art can engage with audiences is to depict the human body. In doing so, it exposes the gap between using art as a tool for idealisation and a depiction of reality.

To ‘embody’ is to take possession of something that one holds dear in the hope of making it one’s own, and the exhibit continues a long history in Western art of exploring the human figure, touching on a range of themes including composition, myth, narrative, performance, body politics, and disfiguration. Highlighting how figurative art is not strictly limited to the use of the human figure, as the exhibit contains subtle iconography and symbolism. The exhibit has even been installed in a melodramatic manner, in order to provoke a bodily and psychological association with each individual piece of work.

Pearl Lam Galleries: Embodied
Date: November 6, 2014 to January 10, 2015
Time: Mon to Sat, 10:00am to 7:00pm
Venue: Pearl Lam Galleries, 6/F Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central