Para Site presents Post-Human Narratives—In the Name of Scientific Witchery

July 30–August 28, 2022
Opening reception: July 29, 7–9pm

The Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences will host the special off-site exhibition Post-Human Narratives—In the Name of Scientific Witchery, curated by Kobe Ko and featuring brand-new commissions from artists Betty Apple, Ho Sin Tung, Mayumi Hosokura, Hui Serene Sze Lok, Florence Lam, Liv Tsim, Hou Lam Tsui, Ice Wong Kei Suet, and Bobby Yu Shuk Pui.

Nine female artists from Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan are featured in the exhibition. Their brand-new commissions explore historical instances of controversial or unconventional medical and scientific practices, such as genetic engineering, xenotransplantation, dream analysis, sound healing, and ritualistic performance. Post-Human Narratives—In the Name of Scientific Witchery takes place outside of Para Site’s walls in the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences in Sheung Wan, a distinctive and emotionally charged location where the exhibition aims to reconfigure new speculative narratives centered on science, magic, and “witchcraft.”

The exhibition is a third iteration of a collaborative series of onsite and online efforts using posthumanist philosophy as a departure point that is a part of an ongoing project called Post-Human Narratives. The exhibition seeks to question current narratives that are centered on scientific reason by focusing on the porous boundaries between dichotomies such as nature versus human, human against machine, and the empirical world versus the supernatural.

The exhibition’s name, “Scientific Witchery,” is taken from the lyrics of a fantasy anime song; it alludes to the ambivalent relationship between science, magic, and witchcraft because, before the development and spread of Western medicine, “witch doctors” or shamans frequently served as healers in various cultures. The participating artists are asked to use video, performance, sound, objects, and photography to explore the ambiguity and contradictions sparked by these links. The audience is encouraged to consider what constitutes canonical “scientific” knowledge in a posthuman world as it is displayed in conversation with the historical exhibits in the museum.