KONGKEE: AM I DROWNING OR AM I FLYING

In 2022, the "Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk" exhibition was statistically the most successful show ever held at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, blasting the Bay Area in a wave of Asian Futurism that has not since wained, seen in the successful Takashi Murakami exhibition and Sunset night market. Behind the success, the artist known as "Kongkee" is a man searching for himself in his art, and a city that has left him behind. With the help of curator Abby Chen, they might forever change the way definition of museums.

Director's Statement

This film was a collaboration with the Asian Art Museum during the record-shattering Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk exhibition which happened in late 2022.

I was hired to document the exhibition, following the artist known as 'Kongkee' around San Francisco during the week of his show.

However what I captured was more than just an artist profile, but on a deeper level I witnessed the shifting of structures as the Asian Art Museum changed after this show due to it's unexpected success, and the passionate fight started by it's senior curator, Abby Chen. This never-before-seen short documentary speaks on the contemporary art world in a way most audiences haven't seen before, an enigmatic artist's uphill journey towards creative freedom, and observes San Francisco as a place of cultural significance accelerating towards dystopia.

-Spencer Tsang, Director & Editor

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