An exhibition titled The Thirteen Stories of Portable Art was held from Mar 1 - 14 at The Pottery Workshop on 220 Taikang Road of Lu Wan District. Jointly presented by Mere Independent Artists (MIA) and The Pottery Workshop Shanghai, with the support from “Fringe Shanghai“, the exhibition featured 12 Hong Kong artists whose works could already be seen in numerous art exhibitions, art magazines and competitions all over the world. MIA is the organizer of the Hong Kong Art Container Project kicked off in 2008.

The Thirteen Stories of Portable Art was one of the exchange activities of the Second Stage of the large scale Art Container Project in Hong Kong, which combined the creativity of top local artists, professionals in the container and logistics industries, as well as experts from the business sector.

The main concept of the Art Container Project is to display Hong Kong artists’ works on the surface of containers, which are usually perceived as functional objects unrelated to art. When these containers are loaded with cargo and start their journeys to their shipping destinations, they simultaneously serve to introduce Hong Kong artists’ works to the world. The art containers have already set sail in May 2008 from Hong Kong, and are expected to be back in the city 4 years later.

As the Second Stage of the Art Container Project, The Thirteen Stories of Portable Art exhibition allowed residents of other cities to continue the dialogue with the Hong Kong artists featured. The 12 “portable” artworks, all within the prescribed size and weight, created by the 12 artists were packed in suitcases and lifted, moved, or carried from Hong Kong to Shanghai by the curators Tang Ying Mui and Yu Kei Kei. This “physical journey” naturally linked the exhibition content with mobility. When an artwork was on the move, a dialogue took place between the content of the artwork and its surrounding environment and people. To document the “dialogue”, the curators photographed the 12 “Portable Art” at different stopovers, like the subway, taxi stops or inside the airport. These photos then became the 13th work of The Thirteen Stories of Portable Art exhibition, depicting the “mobility process” of the other 12 artworks.

 
   
                 Exhibition Opening 1                                              Exhibition Opening 2

         
 ”The Thirteen Stories                            One of the exhibits                                   One of the exhibits
of Portable Art” Exhibition                     Civilization in a Suitcase                          Taking Finger Fur
                                                                   by Lam Yuk-lin                                          Tang Ying-mui     

Basic Information
Curators:    Tang Ying-mui, Yu Kei-kei
Participating Artists:  Chris Chan Kam-shing, Teresa Chan Wai-sze, Carl Cheng Chi-ming,       Alice Choi Wing-sze, Alex Heung Kin-fung, Carol Ho Oi-yan,  Lam       Chi-kwong, Pauline Lam, Carol Lee Mei-kuen, William Lim, Tang       Ying-chi, and Tang Ying-mui
Exhibition Dates:   Mar 1 - 14, 2009
Venue:    The Pottery Workshop (2/F, 220 Taikang Lu, Shanghai)
Opening hours :   Mon-Sat, 10am – 6pm
Enquiries:     (021) 5466 6128 （Monday to Friday 09:00-18:00）