Southside, Hong Kong
Trevor Yeung
Swallowing Rumination, Gracefully
Blindspot GalleryBlindspot Gallery is pleased to present Trevor Yeung: Swallowing Rumination, Gracefully, marking his fourth solo exhibition at the gallery. Yeung is known for using aquariums, horticulture, found objects, installations, and photographs as cyphers to project his internalized perception of the world. Excavating the logic of natural and artificial ecologies, he orchestrates scenarios that evoke emotional resonance and simulate social dynamics, prompting viewers to contemplate notions of selfhood and intersubjectivity. Yeung's latest exhibition is conceived as a space of introspection for the solitary pensive dweller. The exhibition projects one's interior world, and a thread of sentimentality, desire, and vulnerability runs throughout, bearing the visceral traces of time and impermanence. It features Yeung's latest tank, mixed-media, and light sculptures, photographs, and new installations composed of rocks and crystals, reflecting the artist's tendency as an avid hoarder and the belief systems that serve as comfort during change. Tears of Falling Suns (2026), Yeung's newest sculpture series, hangs around the periphery of the gallery, each formed from volcanic lava rocks and sunstones. It takes inspiration from the Chinese mythological folklore where Hou Yi shot down nine of the ten suns after their chaotic convergence. The work is reimagined as the fallen celestial beings, personifying the neglected, while embodying absence and attachments. The polished sunstones are scattered across the volcanic rock, envisioning the sun colliding on the earth's surface. The juxtaposition of the two illustrates two worlds combining, pointing to the coexistence of differences in every system. There is a vulnerable balance in each social ecology, often susceptible to disorder. Enclaved within the gallery is an enclosure featuring Yeung's tank installation, Soft and Milky, but Don't Smell It (Fish Tank) (2020), and Portrait of Lonesome George (2015). The rhythmic noise frequencies of air bubbles emanate from the aquarium, filled with water tainted milky white and teeming with seed bottles, floating and sinking to the bottom of the tank, some spilled to the side. Inspired by a dream and a failed plan to breed guppies, the work mimics an aquarium brimming with the species, overflowing and evoking the fecundity of unmet desires. Portrait of Lonesome George is a black and white photograph poignantly capturing a man standing at the edge of a forest lookout, exhaling a whiff of smoke. We are invited to peer into the artist's voyeuristic gaze, hovering between anonymity and intimacy. The work derives its name from Lonesome George, the famed male tortoise of the Ecuador Pinta Island in the eastern Pacific Ocean that stood as the last of its kind. Resting on a low pedestal is Rolling Black Cleanser (2026), comprised of nine spheres made of minerals and crystals, slowly rotating in an adorned platform, dispelling negativity as they turn. These stones are cherished for their protective qualities, unveiling the superstitions we seek in precarity and our longing to materialize our innermost desires. The work is a form of self-teasing, a reflection of that which cannot be solved and appeased. As we walk through the corridor, our eyes latch onto Night Mushroom Colon (Corridor 2) (2026), dangling from the ceiling as clusters of bioluminescent mushrooms and synthetic ferns sprouting from interconnected adaptors, gradually changing in color. It offers companionship, culling the lonesome dweller to slumber. Growing beyond human reach, it testifies to a silent resilience that thrives in the darkest places. Photography occupies a significant part of Yeung's practice, offering insight to his perspectives on fleeting moments and the manipulation of an image to shape viewers' perceptions. In We are Both Avoidant (2026), a swan's head is gracefully submerged underwater, conjuring for some the saying "to bury one's head in the sand". The swan is in fact scavenging for food, a silent mockery on the betrayal of appearances. Soft Compromise (Breaks) (2026) is a cluster of red, pink, and heart adorned doorstoppers crammed into the crevice between the bottom of the door and the ground. Many are needed to fill the gap, evoking the futile compromises made in an unfavorable situation, offering no guarantee. Concluding the exhibition is Um, I am Fine (2026), a tank filled with water teetering on the edge. It pays homage to Yeung's first and previous aquarium installations, respectively I am Fine, but Please Don't Disturb Me (2011) and Yes, I am Fine (2021). The new work shows a marked transition, wherein the movement of water is made subtle. The moment the water drips, the whole system collapses. "Many works draw on my memories and experiences, but visitors don't need to understand my story. The work is really about how they see themselves," remarks the artist. The world Yeung constructs is one which projects an innate desire to understand and to be understood. This may be what sparked his early fascinations with aqueous and botanic ecologies, compelled by a longing to grasp the ineffable and the ambiguities of the human experience – nuances that resist clarity. Perhaps there is comfort in the unresolved, as it is simply part of being human. Trevor Yeung (b. 1988, Guangdong Province, China) uses botanic ecology, horticulture, aquarium system and installations as metaphors that reference the emancipation of everyday aspirations towards human relationships. He draws inspiration from intimate and personal experiences, culminating in works that range from image-based works to large-scale installations. He creates different scales of systems which explore the logic and nuances that govern our social structures. Yeung represented Hong Kong in the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024, and his return exhibition was staged at M+ in Hong Kong in 2025. Yeung's other recent institutional solo exhibitions took place at Kestner Gesellschaft (Hanover, 2025), Aranya Art Center (Beidaihe, 2024), Para Site (Hong Kong, 2024), and Gasworks (London, 2023). His forthcoming solo exhibition will be shown at CAPC Musée d'art Contemporain de Bordeaux in April 2026. His other exhibitions at institutions and biennales include Guangzhou Image Triennial (2025), Hong Kong Museum of Art (2025), Lahore Biennale (2024), Kunsthal Aarhus (2024), Biennale of Sydney (2024), M+ (Hong Kong, 2023), Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris (2022), Kathmandu Triennale (2022), Tai Kwun Contemporary (Hong Kong, 2022), Jameel Arts Center (Dubai, 2022), Singapore Biennale (2022), Shanghai Power Station of Art (2021), Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln (Cologne, 2020), and La Biennale de Lyon (2019), among others. He was previously shortlisted for the Sigg Prize 2023 and Future Generation Art Prize 2021. Yeung currently lives and works in Hong Kong.