Beyond the Ordinary: Contemporary Book Art Exhibition

Description

Held at PMQ, Print Art Contemporary’s Beyond the Ordinary – Contemporary Book Art showcases the career stories of eight retired master printers. Through recorded oral histories, the masters introduce the four essential processes of traditional movable type printing — typesetting, printing, trimming and binding — recognised as part of Hong Kong’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. 

The exhibition also features six groups of young creatives — including visual artists Lau Ka-chun, Li Xiao-qiao, Percy So and Dana Shek, as well as writers such as Zolima CityMag contributor Eva Wong Yi and poet Nicholas Wong and stage lighting designer Lau Ming-hang. Together, their work explore how the concept of the book in contemporary art can transcend the formal constraints of binding and paper, embracing a wide range of media.

Rare artefacts will also be on display, such as 1960s flongs (paper-based moulds) once used to print popular books; a locally manufactured printer’s guillotine; and photo-etched zinc plates for dim sum menus and vintage Hong Kong cinema posters, tracing the role of printed text in everyday life.

A talk by the curator, Yung Sau-mui, will be held on 21 March at 15:00 in Cantonese. There will also be a guided tour and letterpress printing experience on 28 March at 15:00 in Cantonese.