Art Worlds: Hong Kong

Art Worlds episode 43 moves to Hong Kong and meets Jaffa Lam, an artist who creates sizable, mixed-media works, often formed from materials discarded in the city. Crate wood, stones from the city’s shoreline and abandoned metal are some of these finds that are worked up into subtle forms that delve into Hong Kong’s history and heritage. She has created sprawling canopies from disused umbrellas and almost stained glass-like panels that dwell on elements of cultural life that are disappearing over time and as the city develops.For Jaffa, the process of making is often as meaningful as the final artwork. She has undertaken collaborations with a range of people including members of the Hong Kong Women Workers’ Association. Jaffa spoke to me from her studio in Hong Kong about this form of production and her new solo exhibition at Axel Vervoordt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Art Worlds episode 42 features Hadeer Omar, an artist and researcher who embraces a range of digital technologies to consider the fundamentals of being human. Often working collaboratively, she seeks out people’s stories and memories to reflect, partly, on cultural identity. She has used extended reality to create a video tracing the story of a jewellery-maker, she’s filled a historic fort with an audio-visual installation and created digital artworks which honour the tradition of the zaffar wedding procession. Through her position as associate professor at VCUarts Qatar, Hadeer continually encounters different perspectives which feed into and energise her practice. Her work, ‘Fragmented Realities’, visualised, in video form, the dreams of her students and projected them onto a mound of pillows. Hadeer spoke to me from Doha about her production process and the way building connections is a vital component of her work.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Series 5 begins with Wael Shawky, an artist best known for his epic, narrative films that explore and toy with common ideas about history. Whether using puppets or people for his cast, his work looks beyond the historical canon and brings to the fore lesser known events from the past.Extending his artistic practice, Wael founded and ran MASS, an independent educational space in Egypt’s Alexandria. Since 2024, he has been the artistic director of Fire Station, a creative residency space in Doha and last year was named the inaugural artistic director of Art Basel’s first art fair in Qatar. Wael spoke to me from his Doha office just ahead of the fair’s launch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This special edition of Art Worlds comes to you from London during the week of Frieze art fair. Cecilia Brunson is a London-based, originally from Chile, gallerist and advisor who has dedicated over two decades to championing Latin American art on a global stage. Beginning her career as a curator in America and then founding a residency programme in Santiago, her move to London in 2009 led her to establish Cecilia Brunson Projects in Bermondsey. The gallery, which is attached to her home, has become a beacon for Latin American art in the capital. Cecilia has uncovered overlooked Latin American artists’ estates and supported contemporary talent from the region, often introducing artists that have never been shown before in Europe. She joined me from her gallery to discuss the artists she’ll be exhibiting at Frieze and in her space.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This special edition of Art Worlds comes to you from London during the week of Frieze art fair.Reena Saini Kallat is an artist based in India’s economic capital, Mumbai. Central to her practice, which spans drawing, photography, sculpture and video, are the often man-made tensions and divisions that mark our existence. As such, she has explored political borders like the Radcliff Line, investigated water treaties as well as researching divisive national rhetoric. In all her investigations, Reena likes to highlight areas of subversion and show the ways in which systems of authority can be malleable and overcome. Reena is showing one of her impressive listening device sculptures at Frieze Sculpture curated by Fatoş Üstek. Installed in the grounds of Regent’s Park, her work is interactive and uses sound to invite audiences to dwell on themes of loss, violence and protection. Reena joined me from her studio just after she had returned from London and the sculpture park’s opening.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 38 features Raquel Schwartz, an artist and director of Kiosko Galería, an independent art space in Bolivia’s largest city, Santa Cruz de la Sierra. On its site you’ll find exhibition galleries, a library, a communal studio area, shop and residency spaces. With thoughtful programming, including practical workshops, performances and history of art talks, Kiosko is a place where Bolivia’s arts community gravitate.  Raquel has a clear focus on using art to contribute to society. She founded her eponymous foundation with the intention of supporting projects that raise awareness of Bolivia’s social and environmental challenges. Raquel spoke to me just after concluding an ambitious 12 day micro-residency in the foothills of the Bolivian Andes.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kenia Almaraz Murillo is an artist who seamlessly blends and balances references to her diasporic experiences. Born in Bolivia and now living in Paris, she creates wall-mounted sculptures that are hand woven from Bolivian yarns and antique French thread which often incorporate found urban objects and luminous LED lights. The effect is majestic and not only draws on but also honours the spirituality associated with her Andean ancestors.Rituals are strongly evoked by Kenia’s works. At times she has integrated protective amulets and offerings, like corn blessed by shamans, into her weaving. She has also produced a temple-like room of sculptures that reference the animals significant in Andean cosmology. Kenia spoke to me from her Parisian studio about her evolving exploration of Bolivian culture.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 36 features Tsiriniaina Hajatiana Irimboangy, an artist-designer and researcher based between Madagascar and France. From their background in graphic design, their practice uses digital creation technologies, including AI and 3D digitisation, to highlight, preserve and give a voice to Malagasy heritage and culture. Within this framework, Tsiriniaina often seeks out stories that have been overlooked and marginalised and uses their transmedia approach to refocus attention. Tsiriniaina was the winner of Fondation H’s Prix Pari-tana in 2024 and used the awarded residency, at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, to develop their project 'Ridô - Revealing memories'. Tsiriniaina joined me from Antananarivo in Madagascar where they were working on a new exhibition.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 35 features Joël Andrianomearisoa, an artist who straddles worlds working and living between Paris and Magnat-l’Étrange in France as well as Antananarivo in Madagascar. His work, which encompasses sculpture, installation, performance, craft and textiles, is influenced by the cultural diversity that characterises Madagascar yet it speaks beyond here. A piece like ‘The Five Continents Of All Our Desires’, made from suspended sheets of black silk paper, considers the architecture of feelings and the way emotional experiences, like desire, can be considered universal. Joël has exhibited across the globe and was the artist chosen to represent Madagascar when the country first participated in the Venice Biennale in 2019. Since then he has created exhibition opportunities for Malagasy artists through the platform Hakanto Contemporary. Set in a sprawling warehouse in Antananarivo, the initiative celebrates and supports Malagasy creativity. Joël joined me from his studio in Paris and explained the ways he likes to provoke and bring people together.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 34 speaks to Margaux Huille, director of Fondation H, a Malagasy organisation dedicated to contemporary art. Margaux has spent her career championing artists from Africa and its diaspora. Having helped launch the endowment fund African Artists for Development and worked with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, she has been deeply embedded in the continent’s various art worlds. Fondation H, launched by patron Hassanein Hiridjee in 2017, operates in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo and France’s capital, Paris. From permanent spaces in both locations, the programming foregrounds the development and structuring of the Indian Ocean art scene. This is realised through supporting artists with exhibition opportunities, workshops and prizes as well as focusing on increasing public access to art. Margaux spoke to me from Antananarivo about the scope and value of these activities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.