Venue Support
School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong
Poster Design
YANG Cheng
Artist Statement
The term “香”（xiang, incense/fragrance) holds a four-fold meaning here. Firstly, it refers to agarwood and the incense trees that can produce it. Secondly, it symbolizes Hong Kong, which in Chinese, means “the fragrant harbour,” with “fragrant” derived from agarwood. Thirdly, it means time; the incense stick, not only serves as a timekeeping tool and embodies a cultural tradition that has lasted for thousands of years in China. Finally, it refers to the philosophical realm of the “unity of heaven and humanity”, which is pursuing the optimal coordination and integration between nature and man.
The word “聞” (wen, smell/hear) is rooted in the Oracle bone script of the Shang Dynasty, which originally meant to hear sounds, and was later extended to mean knowing information and distinguishing smells. Through audio and visual information, along with the scent of incense, this exhibition guides audiences to perceive the origin of incense, the primordial side of the incense tree that nurtures agarwood, embracing this multi-species symbiotic world. It is hoped that this exhibition will encourage our reflection on the role of incense in nature and human activities in the past and present, and imagine its participation in human life and culture in the future.
Cheng Yang
藝術家自述
「香」在這裡有四重含義，第一指代沉香以及可以產出沉香的沉香樹；第二指代香港，因為這個名字中的「香」就來源於沉香；第三指代時間，香不僅僅可以作為一種計時工具，香文化在中國還貫穿了千年歲月；第四指代「天人合一」的哲學境界，一種追求自然與人之間最佳的協調與結合。
「聞」這一字始於商代甲骨文，本意是聽見聲音，之後引伸為知曉信息和分辨氣味。本次展覽通過聲音信息，視覺信息以及香的氣味來引導我們去感知香的起點：可以孕育「香」的沉香樹最原始的一面，擁抱這一個多物種共生世界。進一步思考過去和現在「香」在自然和人類活動中所扮演的角色，以及想像「香」在未來對於人類生活和文化的參與度。
楊程
CHENG YANG 