This talk explores perceptions of value and beauty versus waste and ugliness, exemplified through the body of work of land-artist liina klauss.

This talk explores perceptions of value and beauty versus waste and ugliness, exemplified through the body of work of land-artist liina klauss. The German-born Hong Kong based artist has been working with found objects for the past ten years. In her works, the objects intrinsically stay the same, but perceptions of their worth, beauty and belonging, change depending on context, location and integration into a bigger picture. liina suggests that value is something humans create rather than a given condition. Using the example of plastic, the talk explores the creation of value and waste and the costs for environment, health and culture that come with it. She further explores possible solutions to these challenges that can come from a change in perspective, using art as a tool.

liina klauss is a German artist living in Hong Kong and Bali. She studied fashion design at Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee, Germany and painting at Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, Italy. liina uses lost and discarded objects, found and re-contextualised within the natural environment. Her visual language for the pervasive impact of humans on the natural world translates pollution into beauty and climate anxiety into curious creativity. Her creations range from large scale land-art and colourful outdoor happenings to delicate mosaics. liina had her first solo exhibition in Hong Kong in 2013. Her environmental installations have been part of multiple international festivals and conferences in Asia. She collaborates with schools, universities, NGOs and corporations to connect people to nature and art. Among others collaborations include Bali Greenschool (Indonesia), Clockenflap festival (Hong Kong), Heritage1881 (Hong Kong), HSBC (Hong Kong), International Plasticity Forum (Portugal), Ocean Park (Hong Kong), Our Oceans Conference (Indonesia), Potatohead Beach Club (Indonesia), SCAD (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Science Museum and Wonderfruit festival (Thailand). She is competition winner of National Geographic's "Plastic Innovation Challenge" and finalist in "The Universal Sea: Pure of Plastic?" exhibit. Her recent project bridging art and scientific research called Involuntary Pairs was exhibited at Hong Kong Maritime Museum in January 2021.

Anna Grasskamp (Academy of Visual Arts / Shared Campus, Critical Ecologies) and Patricia Ribault (Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin / Beaux-Arts de Paris / Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin / Shared Campus, Critical Ecologies)

The talk is CCL accredited for HKBU students.  An evaluation form will be e-mailed to the participated students after the talk. Please note that the CCL unit will only be given to those students who have registered the event and submitted with a completed evaluation form by 13 Dec 2021 (Mon) and using the HKBU email address.