Ip Wai Lung was born in the Guangdong Province, China,He is an artist residing in Hong Kong. In 1996, He moved to Hong Kong with his mother to reunite with his father right before the handover of HK by Britain to China. As an immigrant, identity and social integration has always been an issue for me despite being educated in Hong Kong.
In 2013, He started up a first gay & lesbian speed dating company in the territory. In 2015, He went to Tibet to practice Zen Buddhism, such experience further confirmed my determination of being an artist. In 2016-17, working as an immigration consultant, He had plenty of opportunity to engage with people with social anxiety. This experiences build up my sensitivity and awareness of the tension between public, people and society.
His artwork explores social issues, taboos, and identities in spontaneous and humorous fashion. He believes in the power of public art interfering in existing social confines with his artwork. Through the conversations with different stakeholders in the society, He intends to develop new social practices in a bid to reconstruct the imagination of the society and the world from a personal perspective.
From an entrepreneur to becoming a self-learned artist, his artwork has been broadly exhibited worldwide such as New York, Hong Kong, South East Asia etc.
Period: 7 NOV – 26 DEC 2019
“(No) Ulterior Motives”
21 December – 21 January 2020
Opening: Saturday 21st December 2020, 16:30 pm.
Location : Tentacles Gallery , N22
Artist : Ip Wai Lung
Curator : Ariane Sutthavong
The Thailand Lottery Centre is the largest secondary market for lottery tickets in the country. The semi-open structure, located in Bangkok’s periphery, is a place for intermediaries – those involved in the trade of fortune – as well as a intermediate space – halfway between speculation and superstition, materialist aspirations and spiritual beliefs.
Drawing on his research and site visits, Tentacles artist-in-residence Ip Wai Lung activates such intersections and the tensions they contain in his solo exhibition “(No) Ulterior Motives”. Built on differing rhythms, his site-specific video installation establishes a connection between the two locations: the Lottery Centre and the exhibition space. As lottery buyers paced around the marketplace with clear intent, searching for their lucky number combinations, Ip performed meditative walks that are seemingly detached from any particular goal. What ensues is a never ending cycle – that of searching and finding, winning and losing. The question of finality preoccupies both Ip and the lottery buyers. What comes across as nonsensical may be end up being more pragmatic than foreseen, and vice versa.
