Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Detachments

Co-presented by M+ and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Detachments is an adaptation of Yeung’s solo show representing Hong Kong in a collateral event at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition marks the sixth collaboration between M+ and HKADC at one of the world’s most prestigious platforms for international contemporary art.

As with previous Hong Kong presentations at the Biennale, the 2024 Venice exhibition returns to Hong Kong in an adapted form. Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice (20 April – 24 November 2024) sees Yeung explore sentimentality, desire and power dynamics through the concept of attachment. For the return presentation, titled Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Detachments, Yeung’s installations continue to examine the relationships between human and aquatic ecosystems, but now through the concept of detachment.

Raised and living in Hong Kong, Yeung draws inspiration from his surroundings, including pet shops, his father’s seafood restaurant, public fountains, feng shui arrangements and his childhood pet fish. In the exhibition, he carefully constructs landscapes of fishless aquariums as metaphors for the social systems that govern our lives. With water removed from the once-operational tanks, his works evoke a poignant sense of longing, desire and containment, prompting reflection on absence and attachment.

Photo 1 | Installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Detachments, 2025 | Photo: Dan Leung
Photo 2–3 | Installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Detachments, 2025 | Photo: Wilson Lam
Images courtesy of M+, Hong Kong