Astrea is the second chapter of Sansiao Gallery HK’s 2025 programme, which reflects on individuality, the release from roles unconsciously shaped by society, and the freedom of choice.

Taking its title from the pen name of 17th-century writer Aphra Behn, this exhibition turns to themes of voice, storytelling, and the courage to speak desire. Behn, often recognised as Britain’s first professional female author, is remembered for her novel Oroonoko, which criticised slavery, as well as for her poetry that addressed personal freedom with unusual candour.

The exhibition presents works by Atsushi Nemoto and Fuyuki Kanai, two contemporary Japanese artists who approach language and narrative in distinct ways. Their works give form to emotion and lived experience: some speaking directly, others suggesting what remains unspoken—the ambiguous, the half-felt, the silent.

In addition, the exhibition includes a work by Jack Pierson from the Sansiao collection. An American artist working with text, photography, and assemblage, Pierson is best known for his Word Pieces—compositions made from reclaimed signage that evoke memory, desire, and the passage of time. His works explore the fragility of human experience and invite reflection on how language shapes both personal and collective imagination, situating Nemoto and Kanai’s practices within a wider dialogue across generations and cultures.

Together, these works invite us to listen closely to the quiet yet insistent force of narrative, where imagination and language meet, and to reflect on the possibilities of expressing one’s inner voice.