The Chinese artist Ding Shilun will sell a work in a silent auction this week in aid of St John Ambulance Hong Kong following the Tai Po fire in which at least 159 people died.
London- and Zürich-based Bernheim Gallery, which represents Ding, says in an Instagram post: “This week, Ding Shilun completed a drawing of two painters sharing an umbrella as they watched the same sun set over choppy waters, an act of quiet amidst a week where Hong Kong held its breath.”
“Silent auction—no reserve, highest offer wins,” the gallery adds. Bids must be placed by emailing the gallery before 23:59 HKT (3.59pm GMT) on 11 December with the winning bid to be announced 12 December. All of the proceeds will go towards the ambulance charity, supporting “their continuous, round-the-clock ambulance service and the families they serve”, the gallery says.
The blaze in multiple high-rise apartments in the northern Tai Po district displaced thousands, with early media reports raising questions about the bamboo scaffolding covering the blocks which were draped in nylon netting.
The disaster has also raised concerns about civil liberties in Hong Kong and restrictions on freedom of expression. The author Anthony Dapiran says in The Guardian: “Hong Kong’s creative community might have responded in works of art, film and literature. But artists have also been cowed. Those with a track record of activism or political activity are prevented from exhibiting. A work of art on the Tai Po fires like Steve McQueen’s haunting Grenfell could not possibly be exhibited in today’s Hong Kong, and even making such a film would be considered an act of sedition.”
Meanwhile the art collector and crypto mogul Justin Sun has donated HK$10m ($7.8m) to the government relief fund through his companies Tron and HTX according to the website Odaily. Sun wrote on X: “To support the relief efforts, I will be making a donation to assist those who have suffered losses and to help with rebuilding and recovery.”
The entrepreneur gained art world infamy last year for buying Maurizio Cattelan’s banana piece Comedian (2019) for $6.2m.
