Mo Ieong

“At the time in Mexico, what was fashionable was to look French.” Reminisced of famed Mexican actress Salma Hayek. Portraying the iconic 20th-century artist Frida Kahlo in the acclaimed film Frida (2002), for which she received an Oscar nomination, Hayek reflected during an interview with The Washington Post, “When everybody was trying to dress like that, Frida did what was unimaginable.” Dior, an emblem of French elegance, has paradoxically nurtured a deep affinity for the vibrant culture of Mexico, a country in the heart of North America. Continuing the legacy of the Dior Cruise 2019 collection, which celebrated Mexican female riders, Maria Grazia Chiuri, the creative mastermind behind Dior’s women’s collections, turned to Frida Kahlo’s artistic oeuvre for inspiration. The 2024 E...

You will become a part of the happenings;you will simultaneously experience them Allan Kaprow The Genesis of Performance Art In 1959, American artist Allan Kaprow sent out invitations for his debut show at Reuben Gallery with a captivating proposition: “You will become a part of the happenings; you will simultaneously experience them.” He described the show as “something spontaneous, something that just happens to happen”. The audience, unaware of what awaited them, arrived at the venue with only one instruction: no smoking or leaving during the event. Upon reaching the second floor of the gallery, they were given detailed directives, orchestrating their seating and movements across three segmented spaces of the gallery. This format allowed viewers to adopt various perspectives...

https://youtube.com/shorts/vrwiBZiuc4I?si=61gYvRr3FDq3yiVX On the evening of the 17th, The Fringe Club’s After Sunset Festival featured “Night of Obsession”, an exhibition that explored the intricate blend of pleasure and pain. This concept, central to artistic creation, requires a certain fascination with pain to express one’s aesthetic. Our attendance was prompted by an invitation from Siu Ding, the event’s photographer, to witness her project titled “Ritsu Aomame”, centering on the art of shibari, or rope bondage. Shibari, rooted in erotic culture, is an art that probes the interplay of body, emotion, desire, and connection, encompassing aesthetics, skill, and sensuality. Shi Shi, a master of traditional Japanese rope bondage, describes pain as a profound and authentic sen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWjSe1JLdNw Discussing sexual minority rights in Hong Kong isn't a novel issue. Since the decriminalization of homosexual acts in 1991, the implementation of the Sex Discrimination Ordinance in 1996, the formation of a consultative group to address discrimination against sexual minorities in 2013, and the push for same-sex marriage in recent years (despite some legislators still upholding traditional heterosexual marriage norms), it’s clear that Hong Kong’s approach to gender education isn’t cutting-edge. However, there has been gradual progress towards equality. Today, being transgender is still a minority status but it’s increasingly common. Rewinding to the 1980s, the scenario was different. “It was almost as stigmatized as drug abuse or s...

Do We Need a Museum Dedicated to Female Artists? Let's consider this question in context. In 1971, American historian Linda Nochlin posed a provocative question in her publication, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” This query, which might initially sound dismissive of women's achievements, actually challenges the underlying societal and institutional biases leading to gender inequality in art. The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), the first global museum founded to support women artists, has recently reopened after a two-year renovation. Winton S. Holladay, the museum’s board chair, emphasises the ongoing relevance of their mission amid persistent gender inequality in the art world. The museum’s future programs and exhibitions will increasingly focus on di...

Marriage begins with hope, an ideal, aiming for lifelong joy. But sometimes, divorce emerges as a necessary path to happiness in its own right. In a society where the sanctity of marriage faces the reality of frequent divorces, it's the exceptional marriages that make headlines. However, divorce has shed much of its stigma, viewed less as a failure and more as a redirection towards a better life. Today, we’re joined by Sia Cooper. The dynamo behind “Diary of a Fit Mommy” and a personal fitness coach known as the “Bad Mom”, not for neglect but for bucking traditional parenting norms. She’s faced her fair share of criticism online, jokingly saying, “If I got a dollar every time I was called a ‘bad mom,’ I’d be very rich by now!”  Her million-plus followers know her for in...

Motherhood is a long-term process full of a myriad of complex feelings.This complexity cannot be expressed solely by saccharine images of Mother and Child, nor by the image of the Mother Incarnate willingly sacrificing herself for the sake of her children. Annie Wang Motherhood: Sacrifice or Creation? Motherhood bestows life upon children, yet from the moment they depart the womb, a mother's identity grapples with personal sacrifices: her time, spirit, social life, and the trajectory of her pre-motherhood existence. Bearing a child for nine months is universally revered, and those who've journeyed through pregnancy may attest to its profound significance. Professor Chiang Chen-Yin of the Department of Hakka Language and Social Sciences at National Central University has obse...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh6WuUOeJT4 Pink October, a colour traditionally associated with romance and tenderness, also symbolises Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Late in September, Breast Cancer Now, a UK-based charity and research organisation, launched a poignant campaign called “If I Had More Time”. The initiative features interviews with nine women from diverse backgrounds, all of whom are battling Secondary Breast Cancer*. They open up about life after their diagnosis and explore what the concept of “more time” means to each of them. As Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, the organisation released a five-minute documentary, Stories of Secondary, which includes previously unseen interview footage. The film captures intimate conversations with these wom...