Sex and loneliness in Hong Kong

AT Connecting Space, an art venue in Hong Kong, there are several videos showing ordinary people talking about their not-so-ordinary sexual experiences. In one video, a Hong Kong woman confesses she didn't enjoy sex until she started charging her husband money - HK$500 (S$80) per night, to be exact. In another video, two Israeli women talk about bondage. And in yet another video, a Japanese woman speaks candidly about her fetishes.

The videos are part of the exhibition by Hong Kong's leading non-profit art centre Para Site. Titled Ten Million Rooms of Yearning: Sex in Hong Kong, it is shown across five different venues in Hong Kong.

Despite the ostensibly provocative subject matter, there are no signboards at the entrance warning visitors about what they're about to see, and no age restrictions for who's allowed to see them. Several teenagers were seen entering the spaces to experience the artworks, which range from humorous paintings to subtle photography to revealing videos, all exploring various aspects of sex and desire.

Lim Qinyi, a Singaporean curator who's been working with Para Site for the past two years, says: "When people think of artworks about sex, they may automatically think there's nudity. But the artworks we're showing are not necessarily explicit. We're more interested in seeing how sex and desire are hidden, altered or replaced by factors such as Hong Kong's family structure and small living spaces."

According to a Durex survey, Hong Kong denizens rank among the most sexually dissatisfied people in the world - along with Singaporeans. This exhibition examines sex, sexuality and sexual attitudes in the post-1997 years which witnessed a growing political and sexual conservatism in Hong Kong society.

Ms Lim worked in NUS Museum and Singapore Art Museum before being appointed as the first full-time curator of Para Site. Reflecting on whether such a similar exhibition on sex could be held in Singapore for all members of public, Ms Lim says: "There is a serious discourse about art in Hong Kong that doesn't really exist in Singapore. There, much of the discourse is institutionalised. We've found that, with our past exhibitions in Hong Kong, when a subject is well-researched and presented, it would spark a healthy conversation about the subject."

The works on display include Hong Kong artist Chu Hing Wah's gently humorous painting about the city's leisure centres, Israel's Roee Rosen's provocative film about bondage, as well as Singapore photographer Nguan's poignant snapshots of lonely people in the Lion City.

The exhibition titled Ten Million Rooms of Yearning: Sex in Hong Kong is now on till Aug 10, at five different locations in Hong Kong. Visit para-site.org.hk for details