Echoes of Time in Hong Kong runs until December 12: Rebeka Tam and Shiori Kaneko preserve wall layers and ruin-like forms in clay

Echoes of Time at wamono art in Hong Kong runs until December 12, bringing together ceramics by Rebeka Tam and Japanese artist Shiori Kaneko. One starts with accumulated traces on urban walls; the other imagines time within abandoned buildings. The exhibition also includes Tam’s photographs alongside her ceramics, offering points of interest for readers drawn to neighbourhood textures, architectural surfaces and material transformation. It opened on September 12 and remains on view. The Wong Chuk Hang venue requires weekday appointments, so walk-in access is not available every day.

How layers on Hong Kong’s walls become ceramic surfaces

Tam observes walls after advertisements are removed, fresh paint is applied and everyday wear leaves marks, translating these overlapping relationships into ceramics. Rather than transplant an entire real wall into the gallery, her works form surfaces that can hold urban memory. In the official artwork image, grey, white, red and blue patches lie over yellow. Bricklike grid lines are sometimes covered by colour, then emerge again. Follow the grid first, then how colours cross it, and different moments seem to press against one another.

Photographs and ceramics in the same exhibition also take viewing beyond the question of whether something resembles a wall. A photograph can record a surface at a particular moment; ceramics reorganise observation as an object with thickness. Compare edges, relief and interruptions of colour. Paint marks easily overlooked while passing by become places where the eye pauses. Street memory gains another scale, without needing a complete landmark or major event to become visible.

Two SIGNA works: from openings to architectural volumes

Shiori Kaneko’s SIGNA－殻 (2026) is 30 cm high, with the other two dimensions each 13 cm. Its pale form tapers upward, while a dark opening and spreading cracks interrupt the middle. Seen from the front, the hole resembles an entrance through the surface; following the outer contour, the rounded base returns attention to the enclosed volume. Made in ceramic, its damaged-looking texture is an artistic language, rather than evidence of a naturally aged antique.

SIGNA－遺構 (2026) is 23 cm high, 20.5 cm wide and 16.5 cm deep. Its architectural-looking corner carries a peeling surface. Pale outer layers, brown interior areas and fine cracks establish different depths, moving the eye between skin and structure. One work favours curves, the other right angles: together, they show how similar suggestions of erosion change a form. Some works in the artist’s practice appear to contain rusted steel components, yet every element is made from clay.

Two senses of time and appointments in Wong Chuk Hang

The artists imagine time differently. Tam finds traces on urban walls still in use and still being painted over; Kaneko looks to decaying buildings to imagine past lives and future transformations. The former recalls layers of colour encountered on an everyday walk, while the latter extends scale toward ruin-like spaces. Their connection is clay that retains a shape after firing, while covering, openings and wear continue to suggest change.

The venue is wamono art at WerkRaum Unit A, 10/F, Derrick Industrial Building, 49 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong. The exhibition runs from September 12 to December 12, 2026. Saturday hours are 12:00–18:00; Monday–Friday visits are by appointment only, with closures on Sundays and public holidays. Before visiting, consult the official exhibition and artwork page and contact the gallery via WhatsApp on +852 6822 2962. Arrange an appointment before including the two approaches to ceramic surfaces in a weekday gallery route.