For Immediate Release
I, Volume 1
Photographic Works by Victoria Kon
April 10 - June 2, 2017
Opening Reception | Friday, April 21,
3 - 6pm Artist will be in attendance
We never look at just one
thing; we are always looking at the
relation between things and ourselves.
Our vision is continually active,
continually moving, continually
holding things in a circle around
itself, constituting what is present
to us as we are.
Soon after we can see, we are aware
that we can also be seen. The eye of
the other combines with our own eye to
make it fully credible that we are
part of the visible world.1
– John Berger
Art Beatus (Vancouver) Consultancy
Ltd is very pleased to present I,
Volume 1, a solo exhibition
of photographic works by Victoria
Kon as part of Capture
Photography Festival. In her debut
solo exhibition, I, Volume 1
features a series of photographs that
were formed by her artbook of the same
name. Printed and hand-bound by Kon
herself, the artbook was produced in
association with Publication Studio
Vancouver and is available for
purchase through Art Beatus.
Shooting on film photography, each image
is a “portrait” with what looks like two
oval cut outs that reveal only the eye
area of the sitter. Funny enough, the
idea for this series of photographs came
out of Kon's anxieties with
human interaction and – more
specifically – eye contact. According to
Kon, “...each set of eyes were
printed on nonsensical colored pages” in
the artbook in order “to remove possible
anthropological or racial connotations”.
This ocular composition of depicting the
eyes of the sitter affords a partial
anonymity, like a reverse masquerade
mask; however, the images result in a
focused attention to the eyes and the
often humorous expressions that their
owner makes with them. The camera may
mediate the human interaction of eye
contact between the artist and her
subjects but, in almost all of the
photographs, ironically, the direct gaze
of the sitter's eyes now seem to
confront the self-conscious gaze of the
viewer of these photographs.
Born in the Greater Vancouver area to
Chinese-Singaporean parents, Victoria
Kon is currently studying at Simon
Fraser University with a Visual Arts
Major and Print and Digital Publishing
Minor and will soon be a new graduate as
she concludes her program this Spring.
With a passion for design and
publishing, Kon has collaborated
with other artists and arts
organizations such as Unit/Pitt Studios
Publication and Publication Studio
Vancouver. In addition, she has been
awarded the SFU Service Award from Simon
Fraser University School for the
Contemporary Arts.
1 Berger, John. Ways
of Seeing, (London: Penguin,
1972), 9.
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Art Beatus, with a
location in Vancouver, Canada and two locations in
Hong Kong, showcases international art with a
focus on contemporary Chinese art. Art Beatus
(Vancouver) is located in the Nelson Square Office
Tower at 108 – 808 Nelson Street. For more
information, please contact Media Relations, Tamla
Mah or Ellinda Siu.
Art Beatus (Vancouver) is open Mon-Fri,
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Underground and street parking is available. Free
admission. Please use this information in any of
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Visual material is available upon request.
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