The exhibition was held in Simon Lee Gallery and attended by familiar faces including Nadia Harilela, Edwin Pun and Antonia Da Cruz
An enchanting spell enveloped Pedder Street on the night of September 10, when Marnie Weber’s exhibition The Sea Witch and Other Stories opened at Simon Lee Gallery. This show—Weber’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong—coincided with the release of Weber’s new film, Song of the Sea Witch, at the Busan Biennial in South Korea.
At Simon Lee Gallery, fantastical human-animal hybrids made of collages of wax, acrylic paint and gold leaf peered down at guests out of Weber’s weird and wonderful paintings, which use whimsical imagery to explore gritty themes like sex, drugs and death. Familiar faces who admired these neo-gothic creations on the opening night included Reina Chau, Lawrence Chu, Louisa Lo, René Chu, Justin Ng, Jozette Ho and Ruth Chao.
See also: 10 Hong Kong Art Exhibitions To See November In 2020
Weber, whose work spans sculpture, film, video and performance, is renowned for her art’s sense of humour, as well as its spooky beauty. A piece that exemplifies this dichotomy, picked out by Nadia Harilela as one of her favourites, was The Bluebird Storm, a collage that depicts three young girls in bird masks standing with their hands on their hips as bluebirds and clouds gather above them ominously.
For Harilela, attending her first event since July, the trio reminded her of her own two sisters. “I love the layering and colours and how the three girls are posing,” she says. “It’s almost apocalyptic in the background but these women stand in front of the chaos so nonchalantly. It makes your imagination run wild: did they cause it? Are they mischievous?”
See also: 7 Unmissable Paintings At The Hong Kong Museum Of Art's Botticelli Exhibition
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