The show explores various works from 1980-2010, ranging from video to sculpture and print to photography. However limited your knowledge, you'll also recognize a few of the artists, well, at least one of them - Damien Hirst. Others include the dark but hypnotic Chapman brothers and Turner Prize winners, Gillian Wearing and Mark Wallinger, though sadly that competition is now worth little more than a feral bedroom.
We realize the schlep to Sha Tin is going to put some of you off - it's the Hong Kong equivalent of inter-planetary flight - but it's worth the effort. The focus is on iconic YBAs (Young British Artists) who lead Britain’s artistic revolution in the 80s, and you get a genuine sense of that exploratory period.
The little dialogue boxes which explain each piece are informative, and refreshingly, they don’t include all the usual fruity descriptions you normally find in exhibitions. Sure, there’s a few ‘evokes’, ‘transcends’, ‘inspection’ and so on, but you don’t feel the need to regurgitate your tsui mei.
Top up that Octopus card.
Made in Britain:
Contemporary Art from the British Council Collection 1980–2010
Until Oct 9
1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin
www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk













