Media

HKU weekly notice (from April 23 to April 30, 2016)

22 Apr 2016

 

An HKU Stephen Hui Geological Museum exhibition launches on Earth Day: Snapshots of a Vanished Environment – Exceptional Fossils from the world famous Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone in Germany
The Stephen Hui Geological Museum of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) launches a two-month exhibition on “Snapshots of a Vanished Environment - Exceptional Fossils from the world famous Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone in Germany” on Earth Day, and will run until June 23, 2016.

The earth’s fossil record is incomplete and only an estimate of around 15% of organisms that ever lived on earth are preserved as fossils. Occasionally, the fossil record presents us with surprises when very rare and specific environmental conditions allow extraordinary preservation of a high concentration and diversity of fossils in so called Fossil Lagerstaetten that represent an ancient in-situ ecological community. Such fossil sites comprise the most important portions of the fossil record for our understanding of the evolution of life and environmental changes throughout the Earth’s history.

One of the world’s most famous fossil Lagerstaette is the Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone in Germany which came to fame with the discovery of a number of complete Archaeopteryx fossils. This exhibition presents 11 rare and exceptionally preserved fossil animals from the 150 million-year-old Solnhofen Limestone, some up to 90 centimetres in diameter. It gives us a glimpse into the environmental challenges these organisms faced 150 million years ago.  

The fossils on display in this exhibition are ancestors of today’s fishes, shrimp, crabs, squid and lobster -- all organisms people can relate to as the modern forms of these prehistoric animals are today part of our daily lifestyles. A horseshoe crab with its preserved death trail is also one of the highlights in this exhibition.

The area where we find the Solnhofen Limestone today was an archipelago at the edge of the Tethys Ocean with lagoons that had limited access to the open sea. Fine grained Solnhofen limestone was deposited in the quiet and stagnant waters of a protected lagoon, cut off from the open turbulent Tethys Ocean by barrier reefs of corals and sponges. The constant evaporation under the tropical warm climate precipitated very fine limy particles from the lagoon water and concentrated the salt, producing a poisonous water layer devoid of oxygen near the bottom of the lagoon that killed anything that entered it. Any organism that fell, drifted or was washed into the lagoon either from the ocean or from the land died and sank to the anoxic bottom water where the usual scavengers and microbial decay were absent. In this environment a diverse fossil assemblage became buried and preserved in soft and fine carbonate mud. Today these fossils give us an unprecedented view of a complete Jurassic ecosystem, including both marine and terrestrial animals and plants.

The exhibition reminds us about the new environmental challenges the modern descendants of these ancient ancestors face in today’s world where their survival is now threatened by human activities after millions of years of successful adaptation to natural environmental changes.

The Stephen Hui Geological Museum acknowledges Dr. Martin Goerlich who kindly provided the fossils for this special exhibition.

Visitors may also visit parts of the museum’s permanent Earth Evolution gallery where fossils from three Fossil Lagerstaettens in China are on display: the Cambrian Chengjiang Biota, the Cretaceous Jehol Biota and the Tertiary Shanwang Biota.

Details of the exhibition:
Venue: The Stephen Hui Geological Museum, Main Campus, HKU, Pokfulam, Hong Kong (Map)
Date: April 22, 2016 (Friday) to June 23, 2016 (Tuesday)
Regular Opening Hours: Monday to Friday from 1pm to 6pm

Special Weekend Openings:
April 23, 30, May 7 (Saturdays), from 11a.m. to 6p.m.
May 14 (Saturday) and May 15 (Sunday) (the weekend before the International Museum Day on May 18), from 11a.m. to 6p.m.

Guided Tours:
Venue: The Stephen Hui Geological Museum, Main Campus, HKU, Pokfulam, Hong Kong (Map)
Free guided tours will be arranged at 2p.m.during the weekends. Free of charge. No registration required.
Language: English (April 30); Speaker: Dr Petra Bach
Language: Cantonese (April 23 and May 7, 14, 15); Speaker: Dr Haz Cheung

Enquiry: Tel: +852 2241 5472

Media enquiries:
HKU Communications & Public Affairs Office Ms Rhea Leung (Tel: +852 2857 8555 / +852 9022 7446/ Email: rhea.leung@hku.hk ) or
HKU Stephen Hui Geological Museum Dr Petra Bach (Tel: +852 2241 5472/ Email: pabach@hku.hk)

Celebrating 30 Years of Criminology at HKU-Through the Years Exhibition opens in April
The exhibition looks at the history of the HKU Master of Social Sciences in Criminology programme, its links with criminal justice institutions and community partners, and showcases research work by staff and students on major topics of crime, deviance and justice in Hong Kong and beyond in the past three decades. The programme has been running for 30 years and remains the only taught postgraduate programme specialising in criminology in Hong Kong.

The exhibition is divided into 5 zones. The Alumni Zone showcases alumni research work on five key themes - juvenile delinquency and youth justice; correctional settings and services; police and policing; the cultural landscape of Hong Kong crime; women and gender. Visitors can trace how social and economic changes have shaped the problem of crime and crime control and the development of criminology in Hong Kong over the past three decades. The Reading Corner and Historical Artifacts Zone offer visitors a chance to read the collection of research work and to look at some of the archives about the origins of the programme at HKU. The Local, Regional, Global and Future Zone exhibits faculty research and community collaborations. Finally, the Photo Slideshow zone presents some of the precious memories of faculty and alumni throughout the past three decades.

Date: April 5 to April 30, 2016
Venue: MC³@702 Creative Space, 7/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 6:15pm (Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays)
Language: English

For enquiries, please contact Ms Connie Ko by email at connieko@hku.hk or by phone at 39172309.

“Equal Opportunities and Inclusivity” photo exhibition
Two students of the University of Hong Kong Ms Chan Lai Fong and Mr. Duraisamy Karthi won the first prize and a merit prize in a photo competition with the theme “Equal Opportunities and Inclusivity”, co-organised by the Equal Opportunities Commission and 10 higher education institutes in January 2016. Photos of the final round entries are displayed at the exhibition.

Details of the exhibition:
Date:                 April 18, 2016 (Monday) to April 24, 2016 (Sunday)
Time:                9am – 6pm
Venue:              G/F, Chi Wah Learning Commons, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong
Admission:      Free
Enquiry Tel:    (852) 3917 5171

UMAG exhibitions
1. When classic meets modern The Art of Takashi Wakamiya: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Showcasing the meticulous process of craftsmanship

Period: March 18, 2016 (Friday) to June 19, 2016 (Sunday)

The Art of Takashi Wakamiya: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer exhibition is held in collaboration with Takashi Wakamiya’s studio Hikoju Makie, and with the support of the Japanese Consulate in Hong Kong and Macau. A selection of finely executed contemporary objects in Japanese lacquer will be displayed at the exhibition. An acclaimed artist for 30 years, Wakamiya excels in the practice and teaching of traditional lacquer techniques with a high level of precision and has developed an interest in executing, in lacquer, East Asian objects historically made from unrelated materials, such as bronze or ceramic. His studio creates these imitations with such remarkable exactness that onlookers are fooled by the medium. The finely applied lacquer is, when held, much lighter than the metal or clay that it reproduces. A master of deception, Wakamiya and Hikoju Makie also specialise in the creation of life-like animals (beetles, grasshoppers), vegetables and fruits (corn, pumpkins).

Public guided tours
Cantonese: April 30 (Saturday, 15:30); May 7, May 28 & June 18 (Saturday, 15:00)
English: May 7 (Saturday, 15:30); June 18 (Saturday, 16:00)
Putonghua: April 28 (Thursday, 13:30); May 28 & June 18 (Saturday, 15:30)

2. Major global events retold through multimedia exhibition “Chen Xi: So We Remember” Renowned Chinese artist to exhibit for first time in Hong Kong

Period: March 2, 2016 (Wednesday) to May 15, 2016 (Sunday)

Artist Chen Xi created this series of contemporary images to commemorate, to document and to provoke thought. The paintings illustrate important events that have shaped our modern world. In the current show, we present her preliminary pen and watercolour drawings along with the finished oil paintings. Meticulous in her research and true to both the documented incident and the domestic details, Chen Xi creates historical paintings for our present and future generations. Her method directly relates to contemporary life and to a society that is informed and influenced by modern-day media. Interestingly, the artist does not simply depict a historic event, but frames within a TV screen each episode of her sequential and international narrative. By presenting the paintings within the TV's glass, they become screen shots linked to a specific moment in time and space, as well as to the living room setting where the news would have been seen. In addition, the exhibition includes four early paintings that relate to the TV series and Chen Xi's development as an artist.

All exhibition-related activities will be held at 1/F, T.T. Tsui Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam.

Opening Hours:
09:30 – 18:00 (Monday to Saturday)
13:00 – 18:00 (Sunday)
Closed on University and Public Holidays

Venue: 1/F Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam
Tel/Email: (852) 2241 5500 (General Enquiry) / museum@hku.hk
Admission: Free
Website: www.hkumag.hku.hk

Connect with UMAG on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/umag.hku
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UMAG_HKU
Instagram: #WakamiyaLacquer, #JapaneseLacquer
Weibo: http://www.weibo.com/5411839295/profile?topnav=1&wvr=6

Media enquiries:
UMAG Communication Officer Miss Elena Cheung, Tel: (852) 2241 5512, Email: elenac@hku.hk.