Bence Bakonyi weaves oral narratives with a close-up of human activities on asphalt
Hungarian photographer Bence Bakonyi returns to Artify Gallery three years after The Presence, his inaugural exhibition in Asia. His new solo show 'We’re all right here…' opened on 16th March 2017.
It features an exciting new series of photographs documenting asphalt surfaces in small villages around Central and Eastern Europe, bearing the marks of human activities on them. “Asphalt tells stories. It records people’s actions and activities honestly,” said Bakonyi, who has taken a two-year road trip in search of asphalt imprints. With a camera fixed to the roof of his car and controlled from his laptop, Bakonyi drove through cobwebs of villages in Hungary, Ukraine, Slovakia, Austria and beyond, documenting asphalt surfaces he found of interest. His creative process has invited many candid conversations from villagers passing by, resulting in a wealth of oral narratives about the landscape, as vivid as those fossilized on the asphalt itself.
Born and raised in a small village at the outskirt of Hungary, Bakonyi is drawn to the humble lifestyle of the sparsely populated Eastern European villages. Through observing the often forgotten asphalt, Bakonyi presents a social reality from a local perspective. Departing from the intense introspection in his first show 'The Presence, we’re all right here…' demonstrates a genuine interest in the social evolution of places close to the artist’s heart. Together, the exhibitions speak of an expanding scope of artistic interest in Bakonyi’s oeuvre.
- Date: Thursday, 16 March – Saturday, 13 May 2017. Opening receiption: Thursday, 16 March 2017. 6-9pm.
- Address: 10F, Block A, Ming Pao Industrial Centre, 18 Ka Yip Street, Chai Wan.
- Opening Times: Tue – Fri 10am to 7pm; Sat 11am to 7pm; Closed on Sun & Mon.
- Phone: 3543 1260.
- Website: artifygallery.com.
