A better tomorrow| 21Jul - 11Aug 2013 | Yan Club Art Centre, Beijing

In the past century, huge transformations took place in every aspect of Mainland China and Hong Kong’s civil developments. Some aspects of culture in both places are similar; the others, different. It’s interesting we have noticed that although Chinese artists grow up in Mainland China having different family backgrounds than those born in Hong Kong, a certain part of their life experiences are similar to those of the Hong Kong artists. Artists from both places are influenced substantially by the Hong Kong mass culture, which forms unique and symbolic memory in artists’ minds. The impacts of mass culture on personal values, culture, and even on values of love and consumerism, unintentionally exert a great influence on the lives of both Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong residents. The Title of the exhibition—A Better Tomorrow refers to the original appearance of prominent individuals. It has also been used as the title of a popular Hong Kong 1980’s film. It’s fascinating that the “heroes” in this film are actually ordinary people in society. The movie has influenced many people in both Mainland China and Hong Kong, indirectly facilitated the formation of common culture and memory for the people in both places, and overturned their traditional views and definition of hero. This exhibition allows artists to use their own thoughts and methods to portray their imagination of the original quality of heroes in “A Better Tomorrow.” Using the artists’ own interpretation on the “history” of Hong Kong culture and the “past” as starting points, the exhibition provides the artists with flexible representational methods to produce inspirational works and convey their own viewpoints on the topic, reinforcing the special communicative method, value, and limitless possibilities art offers to its greater audience.