"Rêverie: Koon Wai Bong Beneath a Solitary Canopy," anchored by Koon Wai Bong’s essay of over 20,000 words, 'In Koon Wai Bong’s Rêverie of a New Place,' the catalogue begins with his decision to relocate to Taiwan in 2023 and, through close observations of cultural differences and ties between Taiwan and Hong Kong, reflects on the condition of living elsewhere —— "These works serve as both a record of expatriate life in Taiwan and an exploration into self-identity reconstruction."
As an extension of the exhibition, the catalogue develops lines of inquiry the show could not fully address. It brings together key works from the artist’s 2025 eponymous solo exhibition at Asia Art Center and, across distinct series, traces how his practice is constructed within both the ink-art and contemporary art discourses. The contents range from studies of 'Language Dilemma,' 'Contemporaneity in Calligraphy,' and the 'Experimentality of Ink,' and then, through rubbing, blurring, and compositional displacement, explore memory and identity within the artist’s signature multi-panel compositions and forest/bamboo motifs. Each chapter corresponds to related works and includes detailed descriptions and plates for each piece, enabling readers to cross-reference text and images.
"'In the Rêverie of...'—this incomplete statement reflects my life trajectories, as I continually search for that delicate equilibrium between arrival and departure, retention and release, history and future." Placed as the coda to the essay, it lightly yet incisively echoes the multiplicity of the artist's practice as it unfolds from lived circumstances.
