Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Detachments

M+, Hong Kong, 2025

An adaptation of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice, presented as a Collateral Event at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, this exhibition continues 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. 

Pond of Never Enough (Under Construction)
2025
Fish tanks, stainless-steel racks, fish pond, aquarium equipment, and wood

Salty Lover (Hong Kong)
2025
Glass jar, distilled water, salt, hydrometer, and bricks

Cave of Avoidance (Not Really)
2025
Used fish tanks, aquarium equipment, ceramics, plastic containers, lamps, metal rack, fish waste

Little Comfy Tornado (After Typhoon)
2025
Used fish tank, aquarium equipment, wooden plinth, and tourmaline

Two Unwanted Lovers (Time Out)
2025
Used tables, used chairs, used cabinets, used fish tanks, aquarium equipment, lava rocks, and dried algae
 

Night Mushroom Colon (Fish Tank Corner)
2025
Night lamps, artificial plants, and plug adaptors

Night Mushroom in shade (Teak Cabinet)
2025
Night lamps, artificial plants, and plug adaptors

Mx. Tried-My-Best
2025
Plastic buckets, mirror, and metal