Why Sin Wai Kin's Moving Portraits Are Poetic Masterpieces

What do Caravaggio's Narcissus painting and Man Ray's Kiki With an African Mask photograph have in common? Arguably, not a lot. However, they are both references artist Sin Wai Kin has drawn from in their latest exhibition, Portraits, which sees the young artist experiment with drag and performance to refashion themselves into alternate fanciful worlds, merging fiction with reality.

Colliding what appears as a real-time performance with a series of moving images, Sin encourages us to question the world we exist within while focusing on motifs centred around desire, identification, and objectification. Although the moving portraits present a contemporary take on tales as old as time (Sin's interpretation of Narcissus doesn't allow us to watch the artist physically fall into the water, but we do see them stare lovingly at their reflection), Sin's artistic talent lies in an incredible willingness to adapt. Once the viewer realises that Sin lies at the centre of each portrait, Sin's history in drag proudly claims the stage, transporting you into the artist's own vision.

Adding to the performance-led atmosphere by transforming the Soft Opening space to resemble a theatre, each screen is propped against a room-filled veil of floor-length white velvet curtains, a direct nod to how the body of work was presented at this year's Art Basel, where Sin was awarded the Baloise Art Prize. Displayed in front of the curtains, each new silent film loops continuously. The gesture of lifting screens onto the walls situates them in the context of traditional painting, a medium used in many of the works Sin takes inspiration from.

Other artworks referenced alongside Man Ray and Caravaggio include Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940), Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (1503) and Lu Zhi, Chuang Tzu's Dreaming Of A Butterfly (Ming Dynasty). Sin's own fluidity comes into play here as they morph into whatever fantasy they wish to dive into. Wigs are used to exaggerate these incredible transformations and are acknowledged via their importance to the exhibition, curated in a separate room painted entirely in emerald green. In 2020, Sin shaved their hair and had it made into a wig - even turning their own assets into costume.

The physical transcendence that takes place when Sin creates art is undeniably their best asset, and as long as binaries are explored within their work - Sin's visual poetry will continue to equally (and masterfully) stun and impress.