links about Hong Kong artist Movana Chen:

video of perfomance/sculpture by Movana Chen outside clothing store Shanghai Tang in Central, Hong Kong

Coincidentally (or fortuitously), in relation to our last post about The Uniform Project, one of our presenters at the City University of Hong Conference (December 8,9,10 2009), Hong Kong artist Movana Chen is currently in an exhibition at the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, in Ansan City, Korea (a short distance from Seoul) titled “Fashion Ethics – Wear Good” which runs from July 23 to October 4, 2009

Here’s something from their press release:

Fashion Ethics - Wear Good will be presenting artworks, costumes, images and installations that either propound ethical messages or follow "ethical" production methods. Participants of 19 teams from 6 countries (UK, France etc.) consisted of fashion designers, architects, installation artists, designers and photographers. Orsola de Castro and Fillippo Ricci uses left over or piece-meal stock fabric; Yun Jin Sun, Hong Sun Young and Chae Soo Kyoung dissemble and reconstruct old clothes donated by various supporters; Movana Chen's installation is composed of paper scraps from document shredders; and Lee Kyoung Jae exhibits dresses made of alternative fiber from eco-friendly materials such as corn or nettle. Of course, some of the works draw their inspirations from the topic of fair trade; Ana Paula Freitas displays bags and dresses made of recycled aluminum can parts produced with third world labor recruited through fair trade, while g:ru, Hong Sung Wan experiments with eco-friendly clothes, also produced by fair trade. Works such as Yoon Mee Jin's architectural costume - a Mobius Strip wrap made of felt - or, Yoon Jung Won's maron doll installation wearing recycled materials reflects in-depth contemplation on the basic action of "wearing clothes" within the context of fashion ethics.

another take on Second Skin

What is the second skin? We have many layers of epidermis on our fantastic (biological) bodies to protect us from the harsh environment of our beloved earth. So why would we need a “second skin” (especially since, biologically speaking, it is far from number two)? Of course clothing keeps us warm (so we can evolve in harsher climates). So why do we wear clothing in Hong Kong (average temperature 25 c)?

Coincidentally, other creative types (other than yours truly) have considered the “second skin” from their own unique vantage points. Here is an up-coming show of two Hong Kong (showing in Singapore) artists worthy of attention: http://www.osagegallery.com/