Queering sex machines : the re-articulation of non-normative sexualities and technosexual bodies

From the simple electronic vibrator to the complex assemblages of cybersex, sex and technology have always intersected. The dynamic relations between sexuality and technology are constantly changing along with the ways in which human beings achieve psychological and bodily pleasure through these devices. Sex machine, a term that denotes an automated device that can assist human in the pursuits of sex, has been broadly defined as therapeutic and pleasure machines in the West. Large numbers of sex machines have been documented in Europe and America starting from the nineteenth century, and were widely produced and utilized by medical practitioners, sex toy makers and individuals throughout history. This research focuses on three kinds of sex machines that have been produced and represented visually in recent years: fucking-machines, teledildonics and humanoid sex machines. By using the poststructuralist approach of combining the material and symbolic dimensions in the analysis, the thesis aims at investigating the cultural significance of sex machines by studying how they are identified, represented and produced as cultural text/artefact in the Euro-American subcultural sexual context. Through a queer reading of sex machines, the project will explore how sex machines re-configure the way we understand body, gender, sexuality and technology in the human pursuit of pleasure and desire

Hong Kong as a Global Art Hub: Art Ecology and Sustainability of Asia’s Art Market Centre

Over the past decade, Hong Kong’s art market has experienced unprecedented growth, emerging as the second largest in the world in 2020 in terms of contemporary art auctions. Factors such as the city’s free-market economy and well-developed infrastructure, as well as its unique position as a gateway to the large and growing Chinese art market, have led to major global art fairs and galleries establishing their presence in the city, in addition to the already present international auction houses. Moreover, the recent opening of M+, Hong Kong’s new museum of visual culture, as part of the West Kowloon Cultural District, is designed to further seal Hong Kong’s position and contribute to the continued growth of its art market. This paper explores the Hong Kong art ecosystem and its sustainability by focusing on leading art market institutions, anchor cultural organizations, and other key actors driving the development of the Hong Kong art system, on both the commercial and the nonprofit side; the effects of the expanding art market on the city’s art scene; the dynamics of the relationship between the Hong Kong art market and the broader Chinese art market; and the key emerging opportunities and challenges to Hong Kong’s future development as Asia’s premier art hub

Hong Kong as a Global Art Hub: Art Ecology and Sustainability of Asia’s Art Market Centre

Over the past decade, Hong Kong’s art market has experienced unprecedented growth, emerging as the second largest in the world in 2020 in terms of contemporary art auctions. Factors such as the city’s free-market economy and well-developed infrastructure, as well as its unique position as a gateway to the large and growing Chinese art market, have led to major global art fairs and galleries establishing their presence in the city, in addition to the already present international auction houses. Moreover, the recent opening of M+, Hong Kong’s new museum of visual culture, as part of the West Kowloon Cultural District, is designed to further seal Hong Kong’s position and contribute to the continued growth of its art market. This paper explores the Hong Kong art ecosystem and its sustainability by focusing on leading art market institutions, anchor cultural organizations, and other key actors driving the development of the Hong Kong art system, on both the commercial and the nonprofit side; the effects of the expanding art market on the city’s art scene; the dynamics of the relationship between the Hong Kong art market and the broader Chinese art market; and the key emerging opportunities and challenges to Hong Kong’s future development as Asia’s premier art hub