Video by Mona // Mar. 11, 2025
Isaac Chong Wai is a Hong Kong and Berlin-based artist who works primarily with glass etching, drawing, photography, video and performance. Looking at humans on the individual and collective scale, he examines the vulnerability of the body and the inherent violence within social systems and historical traumas, imagining alternative microcosms of human relationality. Speaking to us in his studio, Chong Wai talks about how he applies his background in visual arts to his performative works, and uses his studio practice to reflect on the ideas that are formed in his more collaborative processes.
Two of Chong Wai’s works—‘Rehearsed, Mirrored’ (2024) and ‘Falling Reversely’ (2021/2024)—are currently featured in the group show ‘States of Rebirth’ at PHOXXI, Deichtorhallen Hamburg’s Temporary House of Photography. In our studio visit video, he offers insights into these works, as well as his broader practice and creative process.
In ‘Rehearsed, Mirrored,’ Wai captures the movements from his performance rehearsals by etching their traces onto mirror and glass panels, revealing the emotional interconnectedness of bodies. ‘Falling Reversely,’ a seven-channel video installation and performance, engages with themes of resistance—dancers embody it by reenacting, in reverse, the documented falls of individuals who have suffered violent racist attacks in public spaces.
Curated by Nadine Isabelle Henrich, ‘States of Rebirth’ examines the correlation between the body, movement and societal structures in both physical and digital spaces, focusing on documentary and conceptual projects in contemporary photography. In the exhibition, performance and photographic approaches, like that of Chong Wai, ask how we might dive deep, descend through ourselves and hone in on the basis of our self-empowerment.
Artist Info
Exhibition Info
Deichtorhallen Hamburg
Group Show: ‘States of Rebirth’
Exhibition: Feb. 21–Aug. 17, 2025
deichtorhallen.de
PHOXXI, Deichtorstraße 1–2, 20095 Hamburg, click here for map
