Artists | Rose Wong

Date | Mar 7 to Apr 20, 2025

Room 815, 33 Sichuan Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai

The tale of Scheherazade, who captivated a king with stories for one thousand and one nights, is akin to the casting of a spell—saving the maidens of the city and the embittered ruler himself without the clash of arms. The exhibition, titled One Thousand and One Nights, does not seek to retell this ancient myth through visual art, but rather uses it as a profection to explore the power of female narratives and symbolism in a contemporary context, illuminating the sacred within the mundane.

At gallery OM, the 24 newly created works by artist Rose Wong is a culmination of her recent artistic practice. In these mixed-media paintings and sculptures, symbolism transcends its role as a mere vessel of meaning, becoming instead the foundation of narrative structure. Recurring motifs such as the moon, the sun, butterfly, and snake are not fixed symbols with predetermined meanings, but rather serve as narrative forces and visual languages. Shaped by bold colors and diverse materials, these symbolic elements act as an "Open Sesame," inviting viewers into a mystical realm.

Daniel Z. Lieberman, in his book "Spellbound", mentions that symbols are bridges spanning the abyss between the world of consciousness and the world of the unconscious. As Jorge Luis Borges once noted, artists and writers are modern-day sorcerers, casting spells through language, images, or symbols—their works function as magic, transporting us into their dreams in an instant.

Rose Wong deftly employs symbolism to construct a seemingly intimate magical realm, while simultaneously responding to her contemporary context. As a female artist who grew up during the colonial period and experienced segmented migration, Rose has quietly built a "third space" reminiscent of the “One Thousand and One Nights”. In this liminal space, she expands the expressive potential of symbolism, moving from painting to sculpture as a journey from dream to reality, from spiritual growth to self-realization. She is both the creator and the listener of her stories; both the healer and the healed. In her works, the "snake" is no longer a traditional symbol of danger but an embodiment of self-awakening, while the "mermaid" transcends its conventional associations with beauty and fertility, becoming instead a metaphor for the fluid interplay between the external environment and the self.

Framed by the narrative structure of One Thousand and One Nights, the exhibition does not confine itself to any single linear story but instead adopts a nested, recursive structure. Each piece stands as an independent allegory, yet together they weave a grand narrative about symbolism and the subconscious. From Dialogue in the entrance, through the installation, A Ladder to the Moon, to the "third space" works in the end, viewers embark on a journey from reality to the subconscious and back again. This interlocking structure, much like the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, is imbued with mystery and revelation. Through this exhibition, we hope to invite viewers to reconsider the contemporary significance of art as symbolic magic and to recall the incantations from our childhood that once opened the doors to the subconscious.

About the Artists

Rose Wong, a visual artist, researcher in art and education, and a children's literature author. Born in Hong Kong, she currently lives and works in London and Beijing. She earned her BA in 2012 from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong, majoring in Comparative Literature and Art. In 2013, she completed her MA at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is currently pursuing her PhD at the same institution in Art Education and Anthropology, with her research focusing on socially engaged art, the materiality of art, relational aesthetics, and art pedagogy.