Luke Ching Chin Wai (; born 1972) is a conceptual artist and labour activist from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. His artistic practice twists the role of the artist and observer and has created works which, with a mix of humour, respond to the cultural and political collisions in Hong Kong. He studied at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

and graduated with an MA in Fine Art in 1998. He has participated in exhibitions and residencies worldwide.

Artistic practice

Ching's works range from

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

social intervention Social interventionism is an action which involves the deliberate intervention of a public or private organization into social affairs for the purpose of changing them. In other words, it is a deliberate attempt to change society in some way, "an a ...

, often made as a spontaneous response to his surroundings. His artistic practices are based upon his belief in agency and responsibility of the artist for social purposes. Since 2007 in his ongoing project ''undercover worker'', he has worked in different low paid jobs in Hong Kong to experience their working environments and make first-hand observations of working conditions. He used his project to visualize problems hidden within Hong Kong and connect different situations and lead several campaigns to improve working conditions of low paid workers. As part of his 'labour campaigns', he has successfully improved working conditions for low paid workers, such as providing chairs for security guards and cashiers; provided a new design for public rubbish bins to make cleaner’s job easier; and urged the city’s Labour Department to improve health & safety standards related to prolonged standing. His work has launched collaborative activities to encourage employers make positive changes and raise awareness of worker’s welfare. He also uses

pinhole photography A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture (the so-called ''Pinhole (optics), pinhole'')—effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects a ...

, installations and video works to document of the rapid changes to Hong Kong and other cities. In 2017 he turned a hotel room at the Titanic Hotel,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

into a pinhole camera for the Look Liverpool International Photography Festival. His works ''Pokfulam Village: View (Positive)'' (1999), ''Screensaver'' (2014), ''1823: Complex Pile'' (2014), and ''Pixel'' (2014) are collected by M+.

Art residencies

* 2020 Helsinki International Artist Programme * 2012 Breath, Chinese Arts Centre, UK * 2008 plAAy: Hide and Seek, Blackburn Museum, UK

Awards

* 2019 shortlisted Visible Award for Undercover Worker Project * 2016 Hong Kong Arts Development Council Artist of the Year: Visual Arts * 2005 Photography Award Winner, Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition 2005, Hong Kong

References

External links

Exit Gallery Profile

Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art Archive & Library Profile

Luke Ching in the Asia Art Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ching, Luke Chin Wai 1972 births Living people Hong Kong artists Conceptual artists Chinese contemporary artists Alumni of the Chinese University of Hong Kong