Tai Kwun Contemporary is pleased to announce emo gym, a new group exhibition of young emerging Hong Kong artists running from 21 April to 19 June 2022, and curated by Erin Li, associate curator at Tai Kwun. This intimate exhibition calls on seven Hong Kong artists—Dony Cheng Hung, Chloë Cheuk, Michele Chu, Jess Lau Ching Wa, Sharon Lee, Eason Tsang Ka Wai, and Yim Sui Fong—to confront, dissect, and embrace the vulnerability of our times.

The past few years have, in Hong Kong and indeed in the rest of the world, tested old certainties and taxed our collective resilience. Social conditions, global geopolitics, technological acceleration, and a global pandemic—not to mention an anthropogenic climate disaster in the making—have exposed fractures and frailties, laying bare a collective sense of vulnerability that has perhaps always been there, unevenly distributed. This vulnerability, in its various guises, is what each of the artists in the exhibition reflects upon and offers insights into. Their sensitive and poetic works broach issues related to intimate relationships, digitisation of human experiences, and social institutions, among others, all the while forging an intimate yet experimental space where visitors are encouraged to uncover feelings through deep connections with the artworks as well as with one another.

Together, the artworks in the exhibition raise important questions: does vulnerability constitute a fundamental state of human existence, and of the world we live in? Risky as it may be, would exposing and sharing nuanced senses of vulnerability catalyse a new world where we better co-exist with other emotional beings? Indeed, the artists and the artworks in emo gym seek to open up a space for reflective observations and to generate affective structures for each human being to explore and interpret at their own pace.

This seemingly paradoxical openness to vulnerability is also reflected in the title of the exhibition. Short for “emotion gymnasium”, emo gym was inspired by one of the featured artworks by Michele Chu, inti-gym, short for “intimacy gymnasium”. Unlike the gyms where mainstream aesthetics and standard theories of “body management” apply, in emo gym, there is no one clamouring at you to work out this way or that; there are no set recipes for “emotion management”. Moreover, the “emo” of emo gym might bring to mind the sensitive angst in certain punk and rock subcultures, with their distinctive look and airs. While emo gym does not directly invoke the “emo” genre of music, the exhibition does take inspiration from the captivating energy and transformative potential of music in general. Rather than eliciting intellectual revelations on the one hand or inducing spectacular awe on the other, the artworks on show are subtle and sincere creations close to the hearts of the artists, inviting you to pause, take a breath, look closely—and open yourself up in return.

In this spirit, the emo gym exhibition team has also partnered with the participating artists to create a playlist on Spotify and YouTube called “emo gym staff picks”, elevating the way you experience the exhibition or everyday life with a curated list of 25 reflective songs. These songs touch on some of our most vulnerable moments, and expand the curatorial inquiry beyond the artistic space.