Lost Things | Emily Eldridge

Lost Things | Emily Eldridge

Opening Reception: 18th June, 2009 Venue: ēpöch, 12-14 Wing Fung Street (Star Street Precinct), Wan Chai, Hong Kong Gallery opening hours: Sun — Thu (7.30am — 11.00pm) / Fri, Sat, Holiday eve (7.30am — midnight)

Category: painting

MobArt Gallery is pleased to present Lost Things, an installation of plywood and cardboard paintings by Hong Kong-based American urban artist, Emily Eldridge. Showcasing her whole new body of works in Wanchai's chillaxing hotspot ēpöch coffee bar & desserterie, the exhibition will be a narration of the artist's childhood memories and nostalgic moments inspired by the bits and pieces of everyday life in her new home, Hong Kong.

Lost souls, lost teeth, lost virginity, lost dog, long-lost lover, lost-and-found; I've always been the type to be wrenched apart at the idea or fact of losing something. Maybe it's this sentimentality that drives me in my art, that leads me to create, and points to the body of work I intend to make. I question, can we resurrect a loss? Can we create something remarkable out of the discarded? In losing something, do we find ourselves? I am sentimental for the past, sentimental for memories I can't recapture, sentimental for that which has been left behind, and sentimental for a city and time in my life that's vanishing day by day.

In Lost Things, I will give my attention to the discarded, the lost, and the overlooked. I intend to create a series of paintings, sculptures, and installations that react to and interact with forgotten Hong Kong, and that reflect my experiences here. I will find cardboard boxes, wood scraps, cracked windshields, and other salvaged bits of history to paint upon. I will utilize discarded objects from areas around the city; and through these, create remarkable items through painting, illustration, and drawing; and through figurative art and observational depictions of overlooked everyday items. My memories coincide with these misplaced things; together we have a very personal connection. That which appears worthless is again given value and purpose; resurrected, given a second chance. My work is hopeful; I am encouraging viewers to pay attention to their surroundings, to the things they value in their lives. If cardboard can be beautiful and made into something valuable, how do we perceive the rest of our surroundings? What is of value in our relationships with people, or in our everyday lives? This metaphor not only reflects me personally, but also is a very human characteristic that I feel is symbolic for us all. Can art help to show us what's missing within?