KIAF SEOUL 
2023 (A99)

Seoul, KOREA — Odds and Ends is pleased to announce a solo presentation of Chinese-Canadian artist Peter Hong-Tsun Chan at Kiaf Seoul 2023 between 6 - 10 September, 2023. Presenting his newest series, Magic Windows is a surreal study of the illusory nature of media and its significance in the shaping of cultural identities.

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Magic Windows is centred on Chan’s dissection of the probabilistic concept of chance in both social and visual culture. Defined as operating outside the purview of oneself, chance and its many manifestations such as accident and luck, when incorporated into artistic processes, speak directly to questions of aesthetic and social philosophy. Through his newest series, Chan explores anew the concept of chance in Surrealism within the larger framework of socioculturalism. 

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Reflecting on the cultural history of Hong Kong emigration, Chan takes the dynamic tension between chance and determinism as a point of departure in his study of social identities. He utilises imageries of digital screens as gateways to a distorted mirage of prosperity, depicting within them moments of seeming triumph such as the protagonist from a Hong Kong film displaying a winning hand of Mahjong in Winning in the Walled City, 2023, and the illusive view of Gold Mountain during the historic California gold rush in Finding Gold Mountain, 2023. The juxtaposition of media-generated imageries and real-life landscapes illustrates Chan’s conceptualisation of migration as a function of aspiration augmented by media. 

 

Visually, Chan continues to include portrayals of cultural symbols, historical and contemporary approaches of Hong Kong cinema. Magic Windows also continues his surreal exploration as a nod to Rene Magritte; most evident in Bulls Eye (Morning), 2023, the symbolic iconography of Martin Wong, and the cinematic atmosphere of Wong Kar Wai films. He combines the polished style of Baroque paintings with pixelated elements that represent visual interpretation through digital screens.