appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Cheung Hok-hang

Tsang Kin-wah’s first Hong Kong exhibition in years was one of the most talked-about openings during Art Basel week, even though nobody could quite pronounce the title.
“T REE O GO D EVIL”, with the deliberate gaps, is still on view at Central’s Galerie du Monde, one of Hong Kong’s oldest established commercial galleries.
The immersive exhibition that completely takes over the gallery space’s surfaces also rings with political urgency. It is a particularly memorable comeback for a person once widely regarded as Hong Kong’s most prominent contemporary artist.
In 2014, when he was chosen to represent Hong Kong at the 56th Venice Biennale, Tsang was best known for his wallpapers that concealed Cantonese swear words in elegant floral patterns. Such playful symbols of hybridity morphed into something more sombre in Venice, where his exhibition “The Infinite Nothing” included powerful videos and projections about how human history is trapped in endless, recurring cycles.

Born in mainland China in 1976, Tsang moved to Hong Kong in 1982 with his family and studied art at the Chinese University of Hong Kong before pursuing a master’s degree in book art in London.
Venice was a milestone that solidified his status as one of Hong Kong’s most prominent contemporary artists. Yet, since 2017, Tsang had maintained a low profile.
“For me, the Venice show and the follow-up [return show in Hong Kong] were a kind of conclusion to the questions I’d been grappling with,” Tsang says, seated in Galerie du Monde’s lounge.
He likens that period to a kind of midlife crisis. “I wanted to experiment with smaller projects and explore what else might interest me.”

When the pandemic hit, he took it as an opportunity to pause and reflect, and to read widely on political science and philosophy.
Inspired by George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, he began a new series called “EWspeak” - a nod to Orwell’s notion of “Newspeak”, a language introduced by leaders of the book’s totalitarian regime to restrict thoughts and promote state propaganda.
Tsang’s series plays with Newspeak’s infamous slogans - “War is Peace”, “Ignorance is Strength”, “Freedom is Slavery” - by omitting letters or rearranging them into cryptic new abbreviations. Two paintings from the series hang in the lounge space at Galerie du Monde.
“History is written through words, and dictators or authoritarian regimes use language and text to control people,” Tsang says. “What I’ve done is turn political slogans, which are meant to be serious and powerful, into something mundane, subverting how governments manipulate language to shape thinking.”
Meanwhile, inside the darkened space of the gallery, Tsang has created an apocalyptic landscape.

A 10-tonne pile of asphalt, in which steel frames and old televisions lie half-buried, forms a jagged slope on the floor. At the centre, the biblical reference suggested by the exhibition title takes form: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil from the Garden of Eden is represented by a wallpapered column printed with philosophical quotes and political messages. The wallpaper, however, is scorched from fire, as is the ceiling, which is similarly printed with text.
On the flickering screens of the half-buried televisions, manipulated news footage of human cruelty is displayed. Tsang says he used videos of torture released by ISIS and scenes playing out in Ukraine as the basis of the footage. Fortunately, visitors are spared the details.
In the exhibition guide, Tsang has included a mind map and a list of quotes used throughout the show. His references range from Xunzi, the third great Confucian philosopher after Confucius himself and Mencius, to Hannah Arendt, an influential 20th-century political theorist known for exploring themes such as the “banality of evil”, freedom and the perils of statelessness.
The references in Tsang’s work - and the anger that simmers beneath the surface - often lead viewers to assume they are a direct response to present-day events. “But what I’m really interested in is to reflect on human nature as a collective memory,” he says.
What I hope to do is to create something new, more experimental, in a museum or institutional setting. I’m not that interested in commercial stuff
Tsang Kin-wah
Religion, in particular, has long been a lens through which Tsang explores that theme. He reveals that while he only identified as Christian for a few years during his adolescence, the influence has been profound.
“When I was 12 to 14, my school taught that even having a lustful thought meant you’d already sinned. That sense of guilt has stuck with me,” he says.
“Christianity is a cornerstone of Western civilisation, and even in Hong Kong, it has a deep presence. So in my work, religious elements become a reference point - on ideas like where we go after death, or what it means to be a good or bad person.”
This exhibition has taken Tsang nearly a year to create, but it is just one part of a much grander vision. What he ultimately imagines is a large-scale installation that resembles an entire city, something akin to Pompeii, through which he can explore the themes of space, time and history on an unprecedented scale.
Is that why he is working with Elaine Kwok, previously Asia managing partner of Hauser & Wirth, one of the world’s biggest art gallery businesses, and a high-profile auctioneer at Christie’s before that?
According to Tsang, Kwok is using her expertise and network to nurture local talent. Rather than focusing on sales, she is currently helping him explore a possible major solo exhibition with a Hong Kong museum, he says.
Tsang dismisses the notion of the value of his art soaring, thus allowing him to take on more ambitious projects.
“What I hope to do is to create something new, more experimental, in a museum or institutional setting. I’m not that interested in commercial stuff,” he says.
But first, he is preparing for a year-long project that kicks off in June at the Yalu River Art Museum in Dandong - a northeastern Chinese city on the border with North Korea.
While this show will centre on a separate concept, he hints that it could eventually become part of the larger “city” project if it aligns with the overarching vision.
“Tsang Kin-Wah: T REE O GO D EVIL”, Galerie du Monde, 108 Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, Central, Tue-Sat, 10am-7pm. Until May 24.


How to relax and detox through ikebana, the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging

Don’t let AI take over our human creative expression

Meet Woody Harrelson’s wife, Laura Louie, who joined him at the Brothers premiere

Manga mania: how Japanese comics conquered the world

Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-wah’s comeback exhibition creates an apocalyptic landscape

A recent portrait of Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-wah (Photo: Elaine Wong)

Installation view of Tsang Kin-wah’s “T  REE O  GO  D  EVIL” exhibition at Galerie du Monde in Central, Hong Kong. Tsang, who represented Hong Kong at the 2015 Venice Biennale, had maintained a low profile since 2017. Photo: GDM

Tsang Kin-wah says that he took the pandemic as an opportunity to pause and reflect. Photo: GDM

Burnt text is seen on a column at Tsang’s new exhibition at Galerie du Monde. Photo: GDM

Installation view of Tsang Kin-wah’s new exhibition. Photo: GDM

Chinese dissident artist’s video shown on Hong Kong billboards; gallery says it was conned

The face of dissident Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao is shown on an electronic billboard in Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok, Hong Kong. The image is from a 4-second clip the artist submitted to an Italian gallery under a false name for inclusion in a video art reel. Photo: X/badiucao

The face of dissident Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao is shown on an electronic billboard in Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Hong Kong. The image is from a 4-second clip the artist submitted to an Italian gallery under a false name for inclusion in a video art reel. Photo: X/badiucao

Artist Badiucao’s face as it was projected in Mong Kok. It is not known how many passers-by saw his 4-second video or how many of those who did see it recognised him; his appearance is not well known in Hong Kong. Photo: X/badiucao

Art Innovation Gallery, which showed Badiucao’s video in Mong Kok, also screened video artwork No Rioters, 2023 by US artist Patrick Amadon in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, in 2023. It claims to have “no interest in disseminating political views”. Photo: X/patrickamadon

2026 Venice Biennale’s Hong Kong show gets new organiser, with Museum of Art replacing M+

Detail from the Hong Kong exhibition at the 2015 Venice Biennale, featuring the art of Tsang Kin-Wah. The city’s M+ museum, which has organised Hong Kong’s exhibitions in Venice since 2013, has been replaced by the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Photo: SCMP

Frankie Yeung Wai-shing, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, and Maria Mok Kar-wing, director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Photo: Enid Tsui

Trevor Yeung and Olivia Chow in front of Yeung’s work Pond of Never Enough (2024), part of the Hong Kong exhibition at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Photo: Enid Tsui

Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, then the Hong Kong secretary for culture, sports and tourism, speaks at the opening of Trevor Yeung’s exhibition at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Photo: Enid Tsui

Angela Su’s performance for the video The Magnificent Levitation Act of Lauren O, part of the artist’s solo presentation at the Hong Kong Pavilion during the 2022 Venice Biennale. Photo: Ka Lam, courtesy of the artist

The Frick Collection in New York to reopen its doors after US$330 million renovation

A visitor stands in The Frick Collection’s West Gallery during a press preview on March 25, 2025 in New York. The Frick Collection will reopen to the public on April 17 following a multi-year renovation and enhancement. Photo: AFP

Rembrandt’s Portrait of Nicolaes Ruts is displayed at The Frick Collection. Photo: AFP

A view of the Boucher Room at The Frick Collection. Photo: AFP

A porcelain lemon tree by sculptor Vladimir Kanevsky is displayed at The Frick Collection. Photo: AFP

People visit the Oval Room at The Frick Collection. Photo: AFP

The Grand Stair Hall at The Frick Collection. Photo: AFP

Comtesse d’Haussonville, by Jean-Auguste-Dominique, at The Frick Collection. Photo: AFP

Year of the Snake 2025 predictions for 12 zodiac signs. How is your health, luck, wealth?

Feng shui master Tong Pik-ha predicts the varying fortunes of people born under the 12 Chinese zodiac signs in the coming Year of the Snake. Illustrations: Victor Sanjinez

Lifestyle

Arts

One of the most talked-about openings during Art Basel week, Tsang Kin-wah’s exhibition at Galerie du Monde is a memorable return


One of the most talked-about openings during Art Basel week, Tsang Kin-wah’s exhibition at Galerie du Monde is a memorable return.


What to do in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Art Basel

Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-wah’s comeback exhibition creates an apocalyptic landscape

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}One of the most talked-about openings during Art Basel week, Tsang Kin-wah’s exhibition at Galerie du Monde is a memorable return

One of the most talked-about openings during Art Basel week, Tsang Kin-wah’s exhibition at Galerie du Monde is a memorable return