Chen Wei: ‘How are you Hong Kong’
In a studio interview, Chen Wei offers his take on city living and reveals details about his latest LED sculpture commissioned by the UBS Art Collection for Art Basel Hong Kong 2024.
Step into UBS Art Collection artist Chen Wei’s studio in Beijing, and learn more about the artist's practice, inspiration and ideas.
Known for his contemporary take on photographic conventions, Chen builds narratives using found objects, props and staged scenes, all of which are meticulously constructed and assembled inside his studio. Scene setting is an important aspect of his creative journey. In the film, the artist reflects on how the audience experience is equally fundamental, with each viewer bringing their own nuanced understanding as they navigate his work.
Chen dives deep into nocturnal cityscapes, exposing the physical and psychological aspects of contemporary urban living: cities characterized by development and redevelopment, streets lined with widespread use of LED advertisements, and the inherent glitches and faults of these screens that we have grown accustomed to, among other universal experiences.
Fascinated by the lights that illuminate cities, Chen started creating LED sculptures to capture the shared experience of people who live in these metropolises. The artist draws inspiration from LED advertising screens ubiquitous across Asian cities and reinterprets these everyday symbols to connect people and craft new realities reflecting the human condition.
Chen’s new work 'How are you Hong Kong' (2023), commissioned by the UBS Art Collection, incorporates colloquial greeting words used in Hong Kong that are made up of both Cantonese and English. It represents his sentiments towards Hong Kong, as he grew up under the immense influence of its popular culture.
Bringing an equal sense of considered stillness and innovative dynamism, the LED sculpture will be featured in the presentation 'City Visions' in the UBS Lounge at the fair. It will be shown alongside works from the UBS Art Collection by multidisciplinary artists who engage with the city landscape and explore the urban living experience through different perspectives.
UBS is the proud Global Lead Partner of Art Basel. Discover more highlights ahead of the fair here.
