Two Wheels Move The Soul: An Exhibition by the MOTOvated Collective

The MOTOvated Collective is proud to present Two Wheels Move The Soul Exhibition, a joint exhibition featuring 4 artists working with photography and painting. Focusing on their works on the motorcycle community, the exhibition runs from March 24 to March 30, 2023 in Moto Spirits Distillery, a local bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Two Wheels Move The Soul highlights the motorcycle culture and pays tribute to the community behind it. The exhibition aims to be a bridge between art-goers and the rider culture, and dismantle the perceived stereotypes of motorcyclists, perpetuated by mainstream culture. Two Wheels Move The Soul will be featuring works by Brian Pak-Hung Lau, Myles Yiming Chen, Douglas Thompson and Zoltan Suhay.

About the Artists

Aspiring fashion photographer Brian Pak-Hung Lau displays his personal photo documentary project on the New York City motorcycle culture. Despite his focus on fashion photography, Lau was inspired by his famed employer, Arthur Elgort, and prolific photographer, Kurt Markus, on their photographic works of subcultures, such as cowboys, boxers, jazz musicians and ballet dancers. Lau’s fascination with motorcycles also drove him to dabble into a photo project on NYC rider culture through the angle of fashion and portrait photography. Although photographing the motorcycle community, Brian Pak-Hung Lau is the only featured artist who does not ride. Yet, this helps Lau show a different perspective on the topic. Aside from being a featured artist, Brian Pak-Hung Lau is also acting as the curator of this exhibition.

Douglas Thompson, who works under the name "Tempus Deficit" since 2014, is the only featured artist in this group exhibition who uses illustrations for his artworks. He utilizes watercolor, acrylic and acrylic ink on paper or board to create images of his own signature Pop Surrealism. Thompson has been fascinated with motorcycles since childhood, and brings a childlike wonder to his work. Speaking to a contemporary motorcycle culture, Douglas Thompson seeks to avoid the clichés frequently associated with motorcycling. He believes that riding is inherently a freeing and lighthearted act, and his painting reflects that sentiment. Thompson's work also explores the joy of riding and, at times, a reflection on our fears and doubts, and our personal journeys.

Zoltan Suhay, a photographer, has an acute focus in storytelling and an eye for commercial photography. Zoltan began his motorcycle passion living on a trimaran in the boat yards of Key West, Florida where his parents would take him to biker bars to see live shows. He started riding and shooting for the moto community at the same time, with his first ever ride on the back of a Triumph scrambler shooting the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in New York City. Zoltan’s featured photographs represent two of his goals: to capture images as a career in the commercial world, and to capture individuals and provide them with a memory or an image that inspires pride, and self worth. Motorcycles can represent many things: freedom, danger, anarchy, community, creative expression, and vanity; Zoltan Suhay’s work explores all those aspects.

Photographer Myles Yiming Chen created “V-Twin Leica” out of his love for both photography and motorcycling. Chen was an abstract fine art photographer before knowing that he could buy a motorcycle for the price of a camera. As the addictive nature of riding was taking over, he began to miss photography. Chen decided to pick up his camera and document the motorcycle scene of New York City. He explored different styles of photography with a heavy emphasis on the composition of the images. Regardless of the subject or what they ride, Myles Yiming Chen tries to capture the human emotions of the motorcycle riders and provide a glimpse into the life of being one in New York City. His works are not only a documentation of a scene rarely seen by the public but also an archive of Chen’s own journey as a photographer and as a motorcyclist.

About Moto Spirits Distillery

Moto Spirits Distillery is a unique establishment, co-owned by Marie Estrada and Hagai Yardeny. With its lofty space, the establishment holds many different events. It attracts a close-knitted community of riders, artists and spirits enthusiasts. With motorcycles as the motif, the establishment naturally becomes host to many events related to the rider culture, including the “Two Wheels Move The Soul” collective exhibition.

Exhibition Details

Two Wheels Move The Soul: An Exhibition By The MOTOvated Collective

March 24 to March 30, 2023 Moto Spirits Distillery 93 Forrest Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206 Instagram: @motospirits

Curated by Brian Pak-Hung Lau Cell: (347) 993-3588 Email: brian.lau.0716@gmail.com Instagram: @bryphl