Kapok20

Ora-Ora is delighted to present Kapok20, a solo exhibition by Halley Cheng. The exhibition opens on March 13 until May 29, 2021.

Centred on Cheng’s new Kapok Series, the resonating dichotomy of kapok tree flowers takes form in an emblem of his emotional journey over the course of the past year to present day. Of deciduous nature, kapok flowers with their transient presence, appear after rainy periods, and with some luck, only a few would fully bloom, reaching their peak blossoming pinks and blood-reds. The red hue forms a symbolic thread across Cheng’s narratives – touching upon societal combat and strife that innately becomes a daily reminder of his experiences. Raw, lying splattered on the pavement, tread upon – such unidentifiable kapok forms incite the artist’s own introspection and nostalgia. A familiar icon to the people of Hong Kong, Cheng manipulates the subject to delineate personal reflection, collective experience, the pandemic, and the political underpinnings. With the diffusion of these trampled florets, it is a therapeutic revelation on Cheng’s part; one is encouraged to heuristically survey our world and our social relationships within it.