Void

28 FEBRUARY – 23 MARCH 2025

A collaboration between Blank Canvas and Hin Bus Depot
@ Exhibition Space, Hin Bus Depot (31A, Jalan Gurdwara)

Participating Artists:
Vunkwan Tam, Sidsel Meineche Hansen, Jessica Kairé, Trevor Yeung, He An & Joshua Serafin

Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday, 12pm-7pm
Saturday-Sunday, 11am-7pm

Cover Photo Credit: Thum Chia Chieh
Key Visual Photo Credit: Mallle Madsen

Void is the first collaboration between Hin Bus Depot, a community creative hub, and Blank Canvas, an independent contemporary art platform, both based in Penang. The artworks in Void are drawn from the personal collection of Leong Kwong Yee, the founder of Blank Canvas.

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum; but is it always be possible to fill a gap? Some artworks in Void strain powerfully to claim victory over a void; other contemplate poignantly ways to acknowledge, even honour, absences which cannot be overcome.

These artworks span a spectrum of media and invoke different moods and responses. He An pays tribute to his father and his favourite Japanese actress through stealthily acquired neon signs. Trevor Yeung reminisces about an unrequited opportunity through still image and a plant installation. Joshua Serafin’s video work captures the emergence of a new deity to protect and champion a marginalized community. Jessica Kairé meditates on how a public monument can be remembered and maintained through interactive soft sculpture. Vunkwan Tam questions purpose and form through his readymades in the form of two stacked Ikea baby chairs. And Sidsel Meineche Hansen’s charming yet rather macabre tiny human-shaped bell performs its function only through its missing head.

Photo 2 – 4 Credit: Thum Chia Chieh

Yet, while disparate in media, tone and scale, the artworks in Void do cohere in their contemplations of the different manifestations of a void, in turn physical, emotional, spiritual as well as metaphysical – a hole in our heart, a missed connection, a lapse in memory, a lacuna in knowledge, a dearth of being.

In exploring the concept(s) of void, the show serves also as a metaphor for the roles which Hin Bus Depot and Blank Canvas play within Penang. They are committed, in their own ways, to addressing the gaps each perceives in the art scene in Penang.

WHAT MAKES ME UNDERSTAND WHAT I KNOW? 是什么让我理解我的知道?

He An 何岸

2009

Neon Signs
7 individual signs,
Size variable

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸? 是什么让我理解我的知道? reflects the artist’s personal confrontation with loss, memory, and the complexities of meaning. Following the death of his father, He A scoured his hometown, Wuhan, for neon signs to re-create his father’s name, “He Taoyuan”. These stolen or repurposed neon lights, often sourced from the city’s underground scene, are recontextualized from commercial tools into an intimate, glowing language of grief and remembrance. Through their flickering, He A brings the ephemeral nature of memory to life, creating a modern-day mausoleum that reflects his ongoing search for meaning and the emotional weight carried by these illuminated symbols.

In this work, He A questions and recontextualizes meaning itself. The neon signs’ intermittent light speaks to the fragile nature of memory, as well as the tension between personal grief and societal constructs of language. As he continues to subvert the commercial use of neon, He A reflects on the layers of meaning embedded in ubiquitous objects and their ability to carry emotional significance. This work, oscillating between mischief and investigation, becomes a contemporary mausoleum, a space where personal loss and collective history are constantly in flux.

The Enigma (Sheung Wan) embodies Trevor Yeung’s ongoing exploration of botanic ecology and its intersection with the human experience. Central to the work is a large potted plant, strategically placed in front of an image, echoing how real-life encounters often have their view obstructed by objects in the environment.

As viewers engage with the setup, The Enigma (Sheung Wan) prompts a process of spontaneous seeing whilst challenging fixed perspectives and revealing the nuanced relationship between the viewer and the subject being observed. The work also highlights how both presence and absence, visibility and concealment, shape our interaction with the world around us.

Photo Credit: Thum Chia Chieh

THE ENIGMA (SHEUNG WAN)

Trevor Yeung

2015

Unique Archival inkjet print, plant

102.8 × 152.6 x 4.4cm (framed size)

𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪-(𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭) reimagines the traditional lady bell, a domestic object historically used by women to summon servants, by incorporating the likeness of Queen Elizabeth I, the British monarch who legalized the transatlantic slave trade. In this work, the queen’s head is removed and repurposed as the bell’s clapper, symbolizing a critical reexamination of colonial legacies and the gendered dynamics of power. The bell’s bronze materiality and the repurposed head critique the intersectionality of history, gender, and the objects that embody these entangled narratives.

This recontextualization positions 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪-(𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭) as a conduit for commentary on the influence of colonialism, gendered labor, and the ways in which historical figures and objects continue to shape contemporary discourse.

Photo Credit: Thum Chia Chieh

ANTI-(LADY BELL)

Sidsel Meineche Hansen

2022

Lady bell of Queen Elizabeth I,
with clapper of dismantled head, bronze, recast

8 x 6 x 6 cm

LEONG KWONG YEE, IN CONVERSATION WITH IVAN GABRIEL

15 March 2025 | Sat
8pm – 9.30pm

Join us for a sharing session with Leong Kwong Yee, collector and co-founder of Blank Canvas, and Ivan Gabriel, curator of Hin Bus Depot.
This session will offer an insight into Kwong Yee’s collecting journey, where he’ll share anecdotes into the artworks and their significance within his collection. The conversation will explore the context that VOID represents, whilst diving into the experiences that have shaped Kwong Yee’s vision as a collector.

Full Sharing: Watch Here

Photo 1 & 2 Credit: Thum Chia Chieh

VOID X BAN BAN KIA: SIA BOEY SHOP SIGN WALK

15 March 2025 | Sat
8am – 9.30am
Gathering Point: Hin Bus Depot (31A, Jalan Gurdwara)

In conjunction with Void, the exhibition at Hin Bus Depot in collaboration with Blank Canvas, Ban Ban Kia will lead two special walking tours to tell the stories of the old shop signs of Penang before they disappear completely.

On March 15, participants will have the opportunity to explore Prangin Road and Sia Boey, uncovering the signs and stories of this busy market and trading area which once stood at the very edge of George Town and has continually evolved along with the city.

Join us as we slow down and rediscover these works of art hidden in plain view, the skilled artists who made them, and their memories of a disappearing Penang.

ABOUT The Collaborator

Hin Bus Depot is a creative hub in George Town, cultivating a dynamic community of artists, makers, and entrepreneurs. Home to a gallery, arts and event spaces, and a variety of creative businesses, it is dedicated to sustainability and providing a platform for artistic expression, collaboration, and cultural engagement.