Akeroyd Collection

Artists

Ellen Pau

b.1961 Hong Kong SAR; lives and works in Hong Kong, China.

Since the 1980s, Ellen Pau has pioneered experimental new media works and video installations, seamlessly blending art and technology to interrogate gender, society, and the political landscapes of her time. A central figure in Hong Kong's art community, her works are included in the collections of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, M+ in Hong Kong, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, among others. Pau has taken inspiration from 1960s visionaries such as Jean-Luc Godard and Martha Rosler, whose influences can be seen as early as 1984 in her super-8 films. Incorporating video installations into her practice from the early 1990s, notable works include Song of the Goddess and Recycling Cinema, the latter of which has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale and the Guggenheim Museum. Beyond her work as an artist, Pau actively contributes to the ecology of the art world as a curator and organizer. Co-founding Videotage in 1986 and later establishing the Microwave International New Media Arts Festival in 1996, she is a long-term advocate for the Hong Kong independent arts scene, championing diverse platforms for artistic expression. Pau's leadership extends to roles in the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and serving on M+'s acquisition committee until 2020, underscoring her considerable impact on the global art landscape.

Ellen Pau's recent solo exhibitions include Ellen Pau: Speculative Generations of Flora Zero, Atelier Mondial, PF25 cultural project, Basel, Switzerland (2023); The Great Movement, Edouard Malingue Gallery, Hong Kong (2019); Ellen Pau: What about home affairs?, Para Site, Hong Kong (2018); Mobile M+: Moving Images, M+, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong (2015). Recent group shows include On my own term - self taught artists The Rotunda, Exchange Square, Hong Kong (2022); Nostalgia is a Waving Flag: Taiwan and Hong-Kong Video Art Exhibition, Hong-gah Museum, Taipei (2022); Refocusing on the Medium: The Rise of East Asia Video Art Beijing, Minsheng Art Museum, Beijing (2022); Refocusing on the Medium: the Rise of East Asia Video Art, OCAT Shanghai, Shanghai, China (2020); Awakenings, Art in society in Asia 1960s-1990s, National Gallery Singapore (2019); Digital Matters, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA), Manchester (2017); Time Test: International Video Art Research Exhibition, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China (2016) among others.

For further information about this artist please click here.

For Ellen Pau's online archive at Asia Art Archive please click here.

Exhibitions

Awards