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Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre showcases new prints and installations by artist Jay Lau (with photos)
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     The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre (vA!) of the Art Promotion Office is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau, who used archival photos of the Old Victoria Barracks and applied image-editing software and AI generation technology for his creations.

     The Grade I historic building housing vA! was formerly Cassels Block, which was built in the early 20th century as a married officers' quarters. Adjacent to it once stood its "twin" building, Birdwood Block, which resembled it in appearance and function. Both buildings were part of the old barracks. Birdwood Block's site has been converted into a children's playground.

     During his residency at vA!, Lau spent six months crafting a parallel reality in which Birdwood Block still exists. Drawing on archival photos as a foundation, he constructed its surrounding landscape and domestic interior by employing an AI image generator, and transformed them into print series "Fictional Scenery" and "Reversed Scenery". The installation "Non-existent Rubble", casts in concrete and fabricates fragments that resemble the rubble left behind from Birdwood Block. These works are distributed across different floors of vA!, inviting visitors to explore the forgotten past of this historic building and imagine the infinite possibilities that could have arisen at pivotal moments in history.

     The exhibition is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and is organised by vA!. It runs from March 12 to October 12 at vA! (7A Kennedy Road, Central). Admission is free. For details of the exhibition, please visit the website at www.apo.hk/en/web/apo/va_residency_birdwood_block.html.
 
Ends/Thursday, March 12, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:20
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The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows the Head of the Art Promotion Office, Miss Apo Wu (centre); the Curator (Exchange & Extension) of the Art Promotion Office, Ms Leona Yu (left); and Lau (right).
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau.
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows a print from the series "Reversed Scenery".
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre (vA!) is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows a book from the series "Transferred Diary", which uses image transfer techniques to depict the children's playground next to vA!, formerly the site of Birdwood Block.
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre (vA!) is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows one of the woodblocks from the series "Fictional Scenery", displayed across different floors of vA!.
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows a print from the series "Reversed Scenery", presenting the artist's imagined domestic interior of Birdwood Block.
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows the artwork "Scenery Outside the Window".
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows a print from the series "Rubbings of Traces".
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows the installation "Non-existent Rubble", fabricating a fragment that resembles rubble left behind from Birdwood Block.
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows a work from the series "Translucent Curtains".
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre (vA!) is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows the prints and installations displayed in vA!'s public spaces.
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre (vA!) is staging the "vA! Residency - Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block..." exhibition from today (March 12), featuring prints and installations by Hong Kong artist Jay Lau. Photo shows Lau creating works during his residency at vA!.