On Map of Traces
With With Karen Cheung, Laura Figa, and Brian Ng
Tuesday, March 31, 6pm
Free and open to the public. Cushion Works is wheel-chair accessible via freight elevator.
This program is in conjunction with the exhibition
Chan Hau Chun:《記憶座標》| Map of Traces on view from February 21 to April 4, 2026.
A collection of local artists and writers reflect on Map of Traces, the film at the center of Chan Hau Chun’s current exhibition at Cushion Works. The 29-minute work screens at 6pm, followed by brief prepared responses from each participant. A collective question and answer period will open the conversation to the room.
Map of Traces draws on several moving image traditions—including the essay film, social documentary, city symphony, dream sequence, and, in its own curious way, the road movie—to forge a uniquely poetic and elusive language. Set against the dizzying social, political, technological, and emotional backdrop of Hong Kong, the work documents recent changes to the city through the lives of several of its inhabitants, each bound to the artist in a different relationship. Mourning and surveillance loom large, as do multiple forms of exile. The film resists capture by slowing the pace of what we often call “current events” and embracing ambiguity and fragmentation. Map of Traces is the rare protest film that tells the truth about subjectivity.
Participants have been invited to reflect on any aspect of the film they choose, and are uniquely suited to keep pace with its complexities.
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Karen Cheung is a curator and writer based in the Bay Area. She has written for Open Space, MARCH Journal of Art and Strategy, Voices in Contemporary Art Journal, and Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions. She currently serves as Interim Assistant Curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she recently organized New Work: Samson Young, Samia Halaby: Kinetic Paintings, and is curating a new commission by Raven Chacon.
Laura Figa works in sculpture, drawing, and poetry. Her work has been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Et al., 500 Capp St., Temple Contemporary, and elsewhere. Her poetry has been published in Grotto Journal and Luigi Ten Co. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Oregon and a master’s degree in fine art from California College of the Arts. She is based in San Francisco.
Brian Ng is a writer from Hong Kong and the author of Angel (Spiral Editions), All I Want (Eyelet Press), and Fragment (Gauss PDF).
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Chan Hau Chun (b. 1989) lives and works in Hong Kong. She received her BA from City University of Hong Kong in 2015. Her solo exhibitions include Map of Traces, Empty Gallery (2025) and Silent Sojourns, WMA Space, both (2024). She has participated in group exhibitions including Breakdown Playlist at Inside Out Art Museum, Beijing, Under Light of Moon and Sun at 99 Canal, New York (2025); Tsaiyun (Rosy-Cloud) Bridge / Forget Each Other in the Rivers and Lakes, Hordaland Kunstsenter, Norway (2023); An Individual as Society, Centre for Contemporary Art, Guangzhou, China (2019); and Drifting Borders, Cattle Depot Artist Village, Hong Kong (2018).
Her films have been screened at various festivals including Toronto International Film Festival (Canada), Golden Horse Awards (Taipei), Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF), Image Forum Festival (Tokyo), International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (Germany), Hong Kong ifva Festival, and True/False Film Fest (Missouri).
Special thanks to the artist and Empty Gallery
All photographs by Phillip Maisel
