Tzu Chi Environmental Action Center Presents Exhibitions

Common Understanding · Common Consensus · Collective Action and

A Breeze from the Woods

An Initiative to Promote Eco-protection Concept "Co-exist with Earth"

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 18 November 2021 - Tzu Chi Environmental Action Center ("Action Center") will open to the public for free starting November 20, 2021, after green restoration of its original premises. With an aim to promote the public's awareness of environmental protection, the Action Center will stage two art exhibitions, Common Understanding · Common Consensus · Collective Action and A Breeze from the Woods in its first season. Each in unique style carries equivalent message toward environmental concern. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is the funder for the Action Center's environmental programmes, exhibitions, and related expenses. In addition to exhibitions, the Jockey Club "Begin in the Heart" Environmental Collective Action Programme consists of a series of workshops, vegetarian cooking classes, and themed talks on regimen, climate change and green architecture.

Chief Executive Officer of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation Hong Kong Ltd. ("Tzu Chi Hong Kong") cum representative of the Exhibition Curatorial Committee Chung Ling SZE explained, "In addition to the Action Center's regular educational programs for the community and schools, 'The Planet Room' and 'Jockey Club Eco Co-Creation Space' are two spaces designed for exhibition activities. We hope to share our beliefs on 'Common Understanding, Common Consensus, Collective Action', 'Purification at Source' and the 7Rs^[1] spirit through cooperation with different artists at both spaces; thereby, encouraging visitors to practice the environmental protection concept of 'Co-exist with Earth'".

Climate change has brought forth extreme natural hazards. Over the years, excessive use of fossil fuels, deforestation and animal husbandry, along with overconsumption have severely damaged the ecological environment, leading to seasonal instability and subsequently wind, water, fire and land disasters. Architect cum representative of the Exhibition Curatorial Committee Corrin CHAN pointed out, "When it came to curating these two exhibitions, our curatorial committee and team adhered to the belief of 'Co-exist with Earth'. Backed by statistical research, the opening exhibition Common Understanding · Common Consensus · Collective Action reveals the catastrophic imprints from wind disasters, floods, water pollution, forest fires, and human behavior on the earth through a combination of visuals, short films, audio installation and exhibits, aiming to connect visitors with their body and mind. The other themed exhibition A Breeze from the Woods showcases the joy to life with the reuse of waste wood."

Opening Exhibition - Common Understanding · Common Consensus · Collective Action at The Planet Room (Permanent Exhibition starting November 20, 2021)

The exhibition begins with Common Understanding toward the global warming crisis and its major causes, sets to achieve Common Consensus among visitors on the importance to phasing out the continuous climatic hazards through the learning of 7Rs rule, and encourages the visitors to become a Common Action Taker after awakening, live a simple life by implementing "Purification at Source", and reach a harmonic co-existence with our planet.

Recommended viewing sequence for Common Understanding · Common Consensus · Collective Action is as follows:

Wind - Through short films to view casualties and financial losses around the globe caused by wind disasters, such as tornadoes and tropical cyclones.

Water - An abnormal climate has caused localized flooding disasters on the planet, as well as heavy rains and blizzards to occur one after another, while in some places there have been persistent droughts resulting from insufficient rainfall. The interactive installation "Hong Kong in 10 Bottles" assessed the quality of Hong Kong's water resources whose samples were collected from 10 places in town by Tzu Chi volunteers from different age groups.

Fire – Wildfires caused by lightning strikes, droughts and human factors not only burn down forests and human living facilities, but the toxic smoke they produced also induces respiratory diseases.

Land – The impact of human destruction on mountains, forests, and land are evident when a number of severe soil erosion occur amid earthquakes and heavy rains. Chris CHEUNG (h0nh1m)'s interactive ink installation Carbon Reveries records the stupefying increase in carbon emission over the past 63 years. 12 bamboo pipes are used to form a bamboo grove. Each corresponds to a set of annual carbon emission data, allowing visitors to rethink the relationship between carbon emission, nature's vibrancy and human intervention to the ecosystem. Chris explained, "This work makes visitors feel as if they were in the bamboo grove, breathing in sync with the nature and sensing the vibrancy of nature. When visitors touch each bamboo pipe with their own hands, the warm temperature of their palm will make the ink color of the bamboo pipe gradually fade out, implying human intervention to the nature.  The entire installation also looks like a set of factory exhaust pipes, reminding visitors that global warming is a crisis that brooks no further delay." Upon understanding the irregularities of wind, water, fire and land, visitors can meditate at the round-shaped mediation area to reflect on what have been seen, heard, and felt; together with the round, mellow and harmonious sound of singing bowls, the entire setup is intended to awaken and inspire visitors to environmental protection from the body, mind to consciousness.

Themed Exhibition – A Breeze from the Woods at Jockey Club Eco Co-Creation Space (November 20, 2021 to March 12, 2022)

Woodwork artist Che LAM (Che Gor) has been engaged in hand-made woodwork for nearly two decades. His themed exhibition A Breeze from the Woods features a large-scale installation of 108 wooden sharks of various sizes. Hanging down horizontally from the ceiling to the ground, this installation brings visitors the pleasure of being in the deepness of the ocean, where they gaze face-to-face with the sharks. As an enthusiastic diver himself, Che Gor thinks that sharks are not terrible.  The stronger preying upon the weaker follows the law of nature, while high-end predators in the food chain like sharks are only small creatives existing in nature, yet the most important link to maintain the marine ecosystem. There are also several different mortise and tenon wooden furniture and toys on display at the same venue, including tenon wooden stools, wooden radios, wooden boxes with frosted glass depicting begonia flower motifs, wooden mobile phone holders, etc. Che Gor says, "Tzu Chi Environmental Action Center's belief in cherishing materials coincides with my belief in 'trees have life' and the recycling of surplus wood and waste wood from any renovation projects.  I believe visitors to the Action Center will understand the power of environmental protection and will use all natural resources in a proper way." A series of sharing sessions and workshops will be held in December, allowing visitors to craft wooden tops, mobile phone holders and experience tenon joints of wooden stroller assembly, etc. For registration and details, please refer to the Action Center's official website.

Members of the Tzu Chi Environmental Action Center Curatorial Committee include Chung Ling SZE, Shu Lin LEE, Wing Kam LEUNG, Yuk Lin CHOW, Ching Hsiu HUANG, Man Lee NG and Corrin CHAN. Advisors include Stanley WONG (Anothermountainman) and Chi-ming SHUN (Opening Exhibition), while Kathfree FUNG and Sunny WONG are co-curators for both exhibitions.

Tzu Chi Environmental Action Center

About Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation HK Ltd.

Established in 1993, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation Hong Kong Ltd. is a non-profit charity organization upholding the spirit of great-loving kindness with the elements of "Sincerity, Integrity, Faith and Truthfulness" and "Unconditional Kindness. Universal Great Compassion" for more than two decades. Apart from actively promoting charitable works, such as regular visits to hospitals, homes for the blind, nursing homes, mentally recovered individuals, and schools for physically- challenged children, Tzu Chi Hong Kong also engages in other benevolent works from cases, including individual care services, visits to the homeless, emergency relief and free health check. Additionally, the Hong Kong chapter is committed to promoting Tzu Chi's humanistic culture, advocating the teaching of Jing Si Aphorisms, organizing parent-child growth classes for children, and providing financial assistance for the underprivileged students.

In November 2009, Tzu Chi established the first environmental education station in the Tai Wai Liaison Office, where a new impetus was injected to power Tzu Chi's mission on Hong Kong's environmental protection. The Hong Kong branch has so far set up a network of 20 environmental recycling stations throughout the city. The total weight of recycling items, with the inclusion of plastic, paper, hardware and glass, amassed from the community was 268,128 kg in 2019. Tzu Chi has begun to operate the "GREEN@QUARRY BAY" which is one of the recycle stores of the "GREEN@COMMUNITY" program launched by the Environmental Protection Department. "GREEN@QUARRY BAY" launched since the end of December 2020 has taken Tzu Chi Hong Kong to a new chapter in environmental recycling.

For more information, please refer to Tzu Chi Environmental Action Center official website: www.tzuchieac.org.hk

For higher resolution photos and captions, please check this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ntc42r12e10mdd4/AABCuvRb_0ZT5U1H_Bx0DUmua?dl=0

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