• Organized by AFA Macau, the exhibition “Solo Exhibition of Hio Lam Lei” opened on 25 March.
• The exhibition explores how ritual practices respond to people’s anxiety about death.

Organized by AFA Macau, the exhibition “Cruising Through This Mortal Coil – Solo Exhibition of Hio Lam Lei” opened on 25 March at The Albergue SCM. Taking the Hungry Ghost Festival’s offering rituals as its entry point, the exhibition explores how ritual practices respond to people’s anxiety about death and extends this inquiry into a symbolic spiritual journey.

The opening attracted many guests and members of the arts and cultural community, including Van Pou Lon, Director of the Division of Visual Arts of the Cultural Affairs Bureau; David Lomastro, Consul General of Belgium to Hong Kong and Macao; Catarina Cottinelli, Director of the Macao Delegation of the Orient Foundation; Lok Hei, President of the Macau Artist Society; Lam Sio Man, Director of the District Development Center; and Kun Wang Tou, Council Member of AFA, along with numerous local artists, cultural practitioners and art enthusiasts.

Curated by Chang Chan, the exhibition begins with artist Hio Lam Lei’s childhood fear of death and a lucid dream as key creative triggers. In the video work If They Really Exist, she confronts this inner unease directly, while works in video, installation and drawing reconstruct an imagined landscape of wandering solitary spirits.

By turning the “posthumous route” into a mirror reflecting the condition of the living, the works transform the gaze upon the dead into questions about ways of living and the meaning of existence. The curatorial text also brings in philosophical and anthropological perspectives, guiding viewers to look back at “being alive” itself while facing mortality.