The Folk Art Series: Cockroach project, which began in 2006, is part of Luke Ching‘s long-term interest in bringing folk art and everyday life that draws attention to the value of Hong Kong’s “heritage.” His practice is distinguished by his use of irreverent humor to draw attention to our shared, but often unexpected experiences of living in Hong Kong.

In this project’s workshop iteration at AAAinA, the cockroach, a familiar participant in Hong Kong’s urban habitat (although equally present in New York), became the subject of “folk art” handcraft. Luke taught participants how to make these urban creatures using double-sided tape and through sharing, create a community – the “folk”- of cockroach makers.

For more information of this project: https://peertopeerexchange.org/artworks

Luke Ching Chin Wai‘s art practice is drawn to two interrelated areas: social-activism working with marginalized communities (such as elderly laborers) and scrutiny of our acceptance of values placed by society. He sees the artist as a natural outsider who can shapeshift to disrupt order for us to re-see, and perhaps change, our society with small gestures. One of his alternative labor campaigns has resulted in the mandatory provision of seats for security guards. This work, Undercover Worker, was shortlisted for the Visible Award (The Visible Project), 2019. Ching has exhibited at the 2018 Gwangju Biennale and the Liverpool International Photography Festival. In 2020, Ching held a solo show, Glitch in the Matrix, at Para Site, Hong Kong.