The big picture
About time
Unlike in previous years, Glass-Kantor has a concept in mind for this year's ABHK: the present moment. "It's about the present as a gift - sentimental and nostalgic." She emphasizes how her vision incorporates a philosophy of the past and present coexisting. "You don't have to leave the past in the past: you can take the moments that bring you joy, grief, lamentation and longing with you."
It's a viewpoint that feels particularly relatable in the immediate aftermath of a pandemic, many of us having ended up experiencing time itself differently - whether due to lockdowns, quarantine stints or long-term separation from family. "Artists at this moment can use time as a material," Glass-Kantor postulates.
Looking at the installations she has curated, it's hard to disagree. Yeung's Mr Cuddles Under the Eave, for example, is a 6-meter-wide inverted pyramid made up of money plants and suspended from the ceiling. It first debuted in Ukraine in 2021 but was subsequently destroyed, and had to be rebuilt from scratch.
