Headed to Chinese University yesterday in the morning, came an (rare) aircon bus with all these noisy tv, for exchange of the originally cheaper alternative. Arrived there and get my favourite cheap lunch from the canteen, being the only one still sitting outside in the open, reading while eating. Eating alone is one of my source of feeling sad, and is quite unbearable if I do not bring a book.
Then got to the library and email myself a few last notes on the Ranciere before returning it, and seek rather aimlessly for some new items to read, plus the occasional job of searching the wisenews for articles from my favourite writers in the local newspapers.

Most of the time, I could try to do more and save more by eating dinner there as well, but library close early during summer time, so I planned to visit it on this friday, for I could then head back for the Osage forum at 4, with the same bus, getting off even more nearer to Osage than from my short trip from home.

Yet on my way out of the campus, bumped into Lee Kit, so again we travelled instead on the again air-con, swifter (often more dangerous) red van, and arrived at Kwun Tong terminal and walk our way to Osage, arriving shortly before the forum start. I was originally invited to be on the panel, but I reclined owe to the topic and a few personal reasons.

All I wanna say about local Women Art has been put into my article some time ago for 1a. How feminism has been losing ground in town these days might be something important, but I do not think it is something fitting into the occasion, or me being the best commentator on it.

I instead recommended to them Leung Po, (not because she has the name of Anthony for Osage originally call me up for they want a male voice on the panel, but her earnestness on the subject,) they soon however replied that the panel has enough speakers already.

The talk started to be the mess that anyone could foreseen, just another topic that the artists were not really interested or given much thought. (The artists' shuffling of cards to deal with thematic exhibition, and /or work in response to the topic, maybe another focus worth discussion.)

So seated at the back row, I started reading my newly borrowed Badiou, and Lee Kit by my side told me that happen to be the book he brought and read during his NZ trip. It seems I am really lagging behind everyone in reading Badiou, Michel Lee the other day talk about him too, and kind of kindle my interest to read a bit more. Anyway ...

The (the kind of eternal return of the) topic of Women Art (just as the discussion on what is media art?) was quite unbearable to me, I decided to leave midway, while the talk was actually getting a bit more interesting. Pamela was then trying to steer the discussion around and posed the straight questions to every participating artists hoping that they could answer one by one.

But then fortunately, as much as unfortunately, Leung Po question from the floor broke in, and disrupted Pamela's plan. As Leung Po explained, she rather discuss something more concrete. And her first question was actually after the name of the old lady pushing the cart with the paper carton HK Shanghai Bank Lion Sculpture appearing in the video of Yuk King's work.

It has really two strong symbolic implications. Firstly, Leung Po posed her question in neither the Mandarin nor English the panel has been using all along, but Cantonese. Secondly, She asked about a woman (in the show but not an artist) and before talking about the art, she like to know her by her name as a person.

Leung Po then followed up her question and queried whether the scene that the old lady getting paid for dumping the lion to the Waste paper recycling store was a fake act, for otherwise how could the lion be still there exhibiting in the venue?

All the while, without clear inspection, I thought there was a pair of lion made, as that placed at HSBC headquarter, one got dumped, while the other one stayed. But thanks to Leung Po, it turned out that was just my wishful thinking. The money paid was from the artist to the old lady, the whole scene at the waste paper recycling store was a completely “fake” act. How disappointing!

This again seems like a reminder to me that art is not part of the real world, and I really could not stand it any more and decided to leave and head back home. Even the seconds I entered the show, I immediately find it the wrong place to be for me. All works were so well-finished (even the crack in the huge bone), with such a fine setting (even the tvs were mounted inside the wall), that I felt totally unease with it. I find that I really should not belong to the art scene anymore, if artscene is as such. I simply do not know if money should be put to use this way.

Besides the issue of money, I feel that I am truly more concern about the many aspects of our society, all the injustice that demands any citizen attention. And most of the artworks or what they wanna tackle really pale in comparison, if not they are being privileged and actually doing more harm than good to the society. I see no reason why I should think so much more over them (which I really believe is a kind of oftenly unpaid support).

So what actually do I want to say here (what push me to rewrite almost the whole thing after all this has been wiped out once last night)? Maybe it is just that I am slipping into the marginal class of the society and I feel art is not something that could address to what I (or this class of people) concern most, but instead I (or my fellows) got exploited on.

[ con't in the entry before]