Peeling Back The CIty
At the recent exhibition, Christophe Domergue’s work commanded attention with its raw yet poetic approach to urban surfaces in VetiVa. His signature “Peeling” technique involves casting resin directly onto walls, pavements, and architectural textures, then lifting away fragments that bear the marks of time. These peeled layers become sculptural artefacts, preserving the city's overlooked scars and transforming them into objects of contemplation. Domergue’s practice is deeply concerned with urban memory, impermanence, and resilience. By capturing traces of decay and erosion, he reframes neglect as history and fragility as strength. Each piece functions as a kind of archive — a record of lived experience embedded in the built environment. In this way, his art bridges the gap between preservation and transformation, reminding us that cities are not static but constantly shifting, layered with stories of survival and change. What makes Domergue’s contribution so compelling is the way it challenges expectations of painting and sculpture. Rather than constructing new images, he reveals what already exists, asking viewers to reconsider the present as something unstable, eroding, and continually redefined. His work positions the city itself as a living canvas, one that holds memory in every crack, stain, and surface. Domergue’s “Peelings” are more than aesthetic gestures; they are acts of witnessing. They invite us to look closer at the overlooked, to see beauty in resilience, and to recognise that even the most ordinary surfaces carry the weight of history. Unseen – Material Memories from the Urban Landscape 19/F & 20/F, K11 ATELIER, 18號 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon 17 September, 2026.