ESSEN.- Museum Folkwang is now showing the animated film Sunset Singers by Jessica Poon (*1990) in its 6 ½ Wochen programme. The exhibition is accompanied by sketches and drawings from the production phase. In her film, Poon intertwines different realities of Hong Kong in 2019: the political unrest initiated by young people in the streets of the city and the leisure behaviour of an older generation who arrange to meet in community centres for their hobby of karaoke. The opening was on Friday, 18 August, as a prelude to this year's Museum Folkwang Summer Festival, with the artist in attendance.

The animated film Sunset Singers by Jessica Poon (b. 1990), nominated for the German Short Film Award 2022, is presented for the first time in a compact solo exhibition. The film tells the animated story of Sophie and Long, a retired couple from Hong Kong who pursue their hobby of karaoke with complete dedication. On a weekday in 2019, they arrange to perform at the Civic Centre, but are unable to meet due to social unrest on the underground.

Jessica Poon was born in Hong Kong and has lived in Germany since 2017. In 2019, when strong unrest emerged in her hometown, Poon, like many of her other fellow expatriate artists, was gripped by a sense of powerlessness. Instead of watching the events from afar, she used this emotion as motivation for her artistic work.

The animated film Sunset Singers is the result of this examination of the political and social issues in Jessica Poon's home country. Among other things, it contains footage of the protests against the extradition law and for this reason was not allowed to be shown publicly in Hong Kong.

Despite the socially critical elements, the film also expresses hope for reconciliation as well as self- discovery. The work is a homage to Hong Kong and invites viewers to learn more about the city.

Sunset Singers was made as a graduation project at Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln and was funded by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.

The exhibition format 6 ½ Wochen is based on short-term planning and offers young artists the opportunity to present their works at the Museum Folkwang. It offers space for artistic and curatorial experiments and enables visitors to discover as yet unknown artists from different countries.

6 ½ Wochen sponsored by the Stiftung Kunst, Kultur und Soziales der Sparda-Bank West.

Museum Folkwang
Sunset Singers by the artist Jessica Poon
August 19th, 2023 - October 1st, 2023