The title, Cataract , denotes not only a waterfall, but also the ocular condition responsible for almost half of the world's blindness. Just as rapidly moving water turns from transparent to white, a cataract of the eye is formed when the lens becomes progressively opaque. The theme of opacity here shifts back and forth from connotations of reflected light to the obstruction and extinguishing of light that leads to blindness. Yet, as the Argentinean writer Borges once commented, "The world of the blind is not the night that people imagine." Conversely, one might conceive of a darkness that is formed of light, a kind of luminous night that persists in the world of appearances — it is this ambiguous aspect of the imaginary that Abbas seeks to locate.

Nadim Abbas (b.1980) is a HK based installation artist. His work explores the mechanics of seeing, often touching on the hidden violences and psychological traumas that permeate the seemingly innocuous facets of day-to-day life. He holds an MPhil in Comparative Literature from the University of Hong Kong and a BA in Fine Art (Sculpture) from Chelsea College of Art, London.