As October arrives, SC Gallery is pleased to present a multimedia and painting Duo Exhibition, with Hong Kong Artists Man Mei-To and Lau Ching Hei, Rico, titled “INTERROOTED”. The exhibition opens on 10 October and runs through 21 November 2026.

The Chinese exhibition title, “身土不一,” is derived from the Buddhist concept 身土不二, indicating that the body and land are not two; the self and the surrounding environment are inseparable. But Man and Lau found themselves in contradiction. INTERROOTED explores the collapse of this intertwined relationship when the body is displaced and out of sync with a familiar yet distant environment. Through building unsettling images in a muted palette, Man and Lau visualize the absence of balance and document their quest for stability in this world.

Man Mei To (b. 1990) is a multi-media artist based in the UK and obtained her MFA (Sculpture) from University College London in 2024. She works with porcelain by replicating, reimagining, or quantifying daily objects until they become fragments. Exploring the undermined connection between nature, urban life, and the human body through an intimate lens. Man’s work extends her microscopic view, where she juxtaposes traces of human migration and land evolution. Through clay and resin as media, to continue to explore and document the fluidity, the physical and psychological tension in the evolving constants and recent geopolitical shifts.

“Skin Line” – A new edition of the porcelain collection, explores personal bodily experiences and intimate perceptions. Using white porcelain, Man molds and pieces body segments together to create an imagery of relationships. Through cloning, firing, and further sanding and layering, the cycle preserves body structure while hiding body marks, showcasing the presentable residue. In another collection, “Harmony in Motion”, the artist collaborated with a dancer to capture the ephemeral and fluid body movements. Fusing rhythmic limbs with botanical forms, the sculpture embodies composure while seeking balance.

Different in style, but sharing the same quandary. Within INTERROOTED, the clay-fabricated body is Man’s interface for revealing her observation to viewers. At the same time, Lau uses the canvas base as land and the figure as body, exploring contemporary heroic symbolism through the interplay and tension between the two.

Lau Ching Hei, Rico (b. 1999), currently an MFA student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, derives his visual inspiration from masculine physique in exploring the symbolism of contemporary bodily imagery. Skilled at quick sketching, Lau’s gestural drawing style merges the tension of modern urban life with a classic European art aesthetic. For the first time, Lau uses graphite and pastel on aluminum plate to continue his study of the conflicts and tensions within Heroism. 

The body posture featured in the current collection is based on a fighting scene from Ultraman Tiga, an influential ’90s Superhero Tokusatsu (Japanese special effects series). Lau deliberately selected a scene of Ultraman losing his balance and falling, then recontextualized it by flipping it upside down, delineating Ultraman seeking balance. With the villain and urban skyline removed, Lau detaches the figure from its original lineage, leaving an unsettled figure on canvas caught in an act of finding balance. As time passes, the childhood pop-culture and superhero symbols grow tarnished, lost in an era from which he feels detached. The heroic figure confined within frames mirrors the artist’s perplexity amid modern society and his ongoing search for stability.

At first glance, Man and Lau’s works release a gentle aura. As viewers delve deeper, the dynamic between “Body” and “Land” begins to diverge, and a sense of suppression and fragility emerges. In the duo exhibition, “INTERROOTED”, the artists engage in a process of deconstruction and reassembly, transforming familiar bodily forms into porcelain fragments and images as they continue searching for and reclaiming their own space in an imbalanced world.