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Kǎo: examination, assessment

Yù: encounter, contingency, seeing, treatment, fortune, opportunity

Kǎo is Chinese for ‘examination’; ‘Yù,’ to ‘fateful encounter.’ The reason this exhibition is called Kǎo Yù is because an exam is a mélange of encounters and opportunities.

This starts in schools and in examination halls. Candidate come across different people, and everyone has a different take on the examination experience.

Our examination results determine, and are determined by, chance encounters and our fortunes. Our grades can be affected by the caliber of our teachers; or the accuracy of tutorial school exam tips. And often, in the grades-oriented Hong Kong, our performance in exams may determine our future path.

The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) has suffered its share of criticism in recent years. Some people point out that the HKCEE encourages spoon-fed learning, and turns students off the joys of study. Others say the syllabus is not conducive to all-rounded education. Many candidates enter the examination hall mentally reciting half-remembered examination tips.

How have we benefitted, or failed to benefit, from our examination system?

The HKCEE is terminated in 2010, and a new examination system will take its place. The HKCEE has become a collective memory for many past candidates. 

Kǎo Yù brings together artists of different backgrounds and encourages them to look at the 33-year old institution through a retrospective lens. Some have become teachers themselves; others are still studying. What unites them is their experience of going through the grueling HKCEE. Their humorous, alternative interpretations of the public exam on canvas aim to provoke thought among viewers. The paintings, images and installations on display attempts to recreate the daunting experience of entering a HKCEE examination hall.

Familiar texts, soundless images and faceless figure installations give everyone anonymity, and create an experience that is both familiar and alien.

In Chinese, 'kao' can both refer to 'examination' and ' coincidence.' By naming this exhibition 'kao yu,' I hope that the elements of examination, coincidence and encounter can be interpreted in a fresh light. 

Chloe, Chow Lai Shan

Curator of “Encountering HKCEE”


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Special Thanks to Tiffany Lam Lok Ting for the translation