Adrian Mok

After the Abandoned, 2023

LED neon lights, acrylic sheets, ceramics, Arduino, found objects, single-channel audio

Adrian Mok is a Hong Kong-born Australian artist living and learning on unceded Bigjigal land. Immigrating to Australia as a child, many cultural nuances could no longer be experienced directly and thus were never learned. As a result, Adrian's knowledge gap has spurred him to explore the subtleties of Chinese culture, namely intangible cultural heritage and socio-cultural phenomena, in order to connect with his cultural identity. Through his practice of installation from a diaspora lens, he intends to rekindle, unlearn and learn and present these findings to a largely Western audience. Often, Adrian recontextualises, reimagines, and/or reinterprets various aspects of Chinese culture, and he finds himself increasingly drawn to the motif of Taoist shrine iconography. With an eye towards speculative futures, Adrian contemplates the future of Taoist shrines and the envisioned 'neo-worshipping' rituals that may be conducted.