vA! Residency — Incising the Matrix: If Birdwood Block…

Artist Jay Lau, an artist-in-residence at the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre (vA!), drew inspiration from the history of Victoria Barracks – the former site of Hong Kong Park. Beginning with Cassels Block, a Grade I historic building that now houses vA!, he constructed a parallel reality in which its long-lost "twin" building, Birdwood Block, had never been demolished. The exhibition employs "incising" as a method to probe historical archives and images, transforming their cracks into new narratives. Drawing on archival photos of the old barracks as a foundation, Lau applied image-editing software and AI generation technology to fabricate scenes of Birdwood Block across various timeframes, transforming them into a series of prints and installations dispersed throughout vA!'s space. This invites visitors on a journey to rediscover the forgotten past of this historic building, to imagine the infinite possibilities at pivotal moments in history, and to provoke reflection on the nature of historical truth. Artist: LAU Ka-chun, Jay Exhibition Period: 12.3.2026 – 12.10.2026 Venue: Public Area on 1 – 5/F of the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre (vA!) Free Admission