Phoebe is an independent curator, conceptual artist, media sculptor and the Assistant Professor at the City University of Hong Kong's School of Creative Media.

Her works have been shown extensively in international exhibitions include Cutlog New York 2014, Festival IMAGEM-CONTATO / MOSTRA SESC DE ARTES 2012, iBody (2011), River 3: Art. Fun. Bitan – 2010 Taipei County Public Art Project, EXiS: Experimental Film/Video Festival in Seoul (2009), Subjected Culture – Interruptions and Resistances on Femaleness (2006-8), Women Make Waves Film Festival (2006), Feminism Video Activist (2005), Shanghai Biennial (2004), Venice Biennale (2003), Gwangju Biennale(2002) and European Media Art Festival (2001). She received awards from the Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Competition, Asian Cultural Council, Hong Kong Museum of Art and Philippe Charriol Foundation.

She is the Director of Asian Experimental Video Festival in Hong Kong. She has curated Hong Kong experimental videos programs for Asian Experimental Video Festival in Macao (2011), Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film and Video Festival (2011), Videotage in Hong Kong (2011), EX!T 2010: Experimental Media Festival in Taiwan and EXiS: Experimental Film/Video Festival in Seoul (2009). She has also curated exhibitions "Making the Familiar Unfamiliar @ Hong Kong Park" in 2009, "Playground" for Kao Yuan University in Taiwan in 2006 and "Wo Man: Feminine Art Exhibition" for Old Ladies House in Macau in 2001. Her researches have focuses on Hong Kong media art, curatorial practice, installation art and socially engaged art. Her articles about Hong Kong experimental media was published in Film Appreciation Journal in Taiwan in 2010 and Contemporary Art and Investment in Mainland China in 2010.

Phoebe graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1991, received her MFA degree from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2000 and DFA degree from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in 2012 . She is the Grant Examiner of Hong Kong Arts Development Council and was a member of Curriculum Development Council Committee on Arts Education of Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau. She was the co-founder and Board member of Para/Site Art Space.

www.cyman.net

Curatorial Statement

Love China Love Hong Kong

"Over View wants me to talk about how my selection of works relates to my country. Frankly speaking, the linkage is very weak. Weak national consciousness is one of the characteristics of Hong Kong art.

Hong Kong was a British colony until it was handed over to China in 1997. Although 93.6% of the people of Hong Kong are Chinese, a large proportion still does not have a sense of belonging to China. In 2012, there was a huge protest against the “brainwash” national education reform. Hong Kong people were being criticised for not being patriotic enough. The Chinese government wants the head (Chief Executive) of the Hong Kong Government to love China as well as Hong Kong, in other words, be loyal to the ruling party of the Mainland Government. However, many of Hong Kong people are asking for democracy. They want the government’s power to come from the citizens. There are disagreements between the Mainland Government and the people of Hong Kong. Because of these differences, the identity of Hong Kong people has grown stronger in the last few years.

The selection of Hong Kong programmes shows how artists are inspired by this place. Wong Ping’s work “Under the Lion Crotch” used sex as a metaphor to show the feeling of the daily life in Hong Kong and also the tense relationship between Hong Kong and China. Linda Lai’s work “Doors Medley” is a study of the history of pop culture in Hong Kong. Her material is HK Cantonese melodrama in the 1960s. Linda’s work constitutes active appropriation as the meaning goes beyond the original material. 

Artists are also inspired by the dense living environment in Hong Kong. Choi Sai Ho and Lam Ho Tak generate sounds from it. Tak’s “Concrete Wave Form” creates sound from Hong Kong’s skyline while Sai Ho made sound from the packed buildings in day time and night time. Hung Wing Kit’s “Breath” focuses on the small sky surrounded by the high-rise buildings. Phoebe Man’s abstract work “Touch the Moon” was made in a small and enclosed space which corresponded to the living environment in Hong Kong. Chilai Howard explored the beauty of fast moving escalators in Hong Kong.  These artists have made the familiar unfamiliar and have found possibilities within the limitations.

Hong Kong is a small place but because of its unique history, people and environment, it has developed its own distinctive culture. It is vibrant, exciting, fun and has variety. I am sure the other part of China is the same, having their typical cultures. If people can respect the differences, they can be together and will like each other. "

- Phoebe Man