10 Chancery Lane Gallery is proud to present the twelfth edition of HKFOREWORD 2023, which introduces new art from Hong Kong through its latest art graduates. This year we have selected 10 artists from 3 Hong Kong universities. The exhibition includes painting, video, installation, and a stop motion animation video. The HKFOREWORD exhibition brings a fresh outlook on Hong Kong’s art development and offers insight into the preoccupations and inspirations driving their work. The artists are Karen Chan, Chi Tin Sui, Wing Chiu, Lee Kam Ching, Lewis, Pyrce Luk, Mak Yung Ka, Shum Hok Kiu, Christine Tsang, Ella Wong and Yoyo Yu.
The year of 2023 has been the official end of the Covid restrictions in Hong Kong that liberated this group of artists during their last year as students to get them back into the physical classroom. However, it came late, thus, they have had a challenging time during their studies. Currently in the post pandemic art world, there does seem to be more colour, frivolity and spontaneity in the works. Many of the artists of this generation have felt the changing political environment, with friends having been arrested for their views and a definite feeling of uncertainty moving forward. We did see some works among the graduates that were overtly political but less than the previous two years. There are some cryptic messages well hidden within some of the works. Overall, this year felt as if they were breaking free from the heaviness of the past 3 years of the Covid pandemic and the protests that preceded it.
The colourful work of Karen Chan is made of painting, ceramic and a soft toy. Bright and happy a big red flower looks at you. However, the eyes are turned to the side not looking at you straight on. Karen likes to create environments of paintings and objects that she calls friends. Inspired by Nara in his use of different materials, she develops her own world to transform her daily life into the characters as a mental escape. The surfaces are flat and her ideas, such as a painting of bread where she comments, “if you desire love you need to have bread,” offer us light-hearted insight into her thinking.
Chi Tin Sui is a talented painter that strings together psychological concepts into a strange loop in order to find the answers to ourselves through uncertain environments. Her textures and use of paint are evocative and suggest the subconscious thoughts in surreal assemblages of symbols. There are many references in her work that she would like the viewer to have the freedom to interpret, flirting with ambiguity. The metaphysical seeps into her canvasses as she searches for the absolute.
Wing Chiu’s bright painting of a cartoonish figure prancing along holding a head in her arm like a football brings us to what she calls her “free association with her random thoughts.” Inspired by artists such as nonagenarian Rose Wylie who simply responds to what she sees in the present day. Wing also wishes to liberate herself from the confounds of anything to express her thoughts as they come and as she paints them evoking an impartial sense of wonder for everyday life.
Lewis Lee Kam Ching is a gentle sentimental soul who reflects on the stories of his life and his family’s journey in his works. His graduation work has already been collected so he painted this new painting telling the story of his father’s arrival in Hong Kong. His father snuck into Hong Kong by night from China by following the direction of the birds flying south. Lewis talks about his family history to explain feelings and incorporate them into a narrative. He includes a tree next to the painting to explain this personal journey that took his father through the hills of Hong Kong. He is inspired by Zhang Xiaogang, Liu Xiaodong and David Hockney.
Pyrce Luk comes from the world of advertising and has created a kinetic painted sculpture combining the names of the people in her personal journey. As a cathartic experiment, she has removed “I” from her work to examine what it stands for. Sometimes uncomfortable, she reanalyses her desires in this complex interplay of the relationships throughout her life.
Mak Yung Ka is an artist who works in video, poetry, installation and feeling. She creates intimate environments from discarded materials or trash. Bringing them to a new life and a new viewpoint. Her installations have the sentiment of her poetry that is so touching. She deftly draws from the most obscure objects the ability to feel something deep about them.
Shum Hok Kiu’s colourful paintings lend themselves to the abstract but they are real scenarios or landscapes that she transforms into graphic images of bold colours. These locations in Hong Kong feel fictional but they are of her night walks in Kennedy Town. Both ambiguous yet familiar terrains that are psychologically charged and reflect her experience of a place.
Christine Tsang’s paintings have an ambrosial feeling to them. With rich velvety colours she paints her intimate scenes creating a detached space for her to display her emotions. From a tragic and personal experience with a close friend, she creates a narrative of dancers to help make sense of a senseless night in her painting, “Party Amongst Rotten Fruit.” Another scene of a surreal tale in a park of luscious lace and a protective canopy recounts a scene where a friend was detained. Her way of painting is intuitive and inviting. She takes us on a trail to somewhere where we might have been in a far off dream.
Ella Wong’s small paintings carry so much power, with thick textures and feelings expressing the conditions of now. She plays with her figures with some silly ideas but the technique of blocks of colours to convey her imagination by simplifying the details is a strong. She is inspired by Francis Bacon.
Yoyo Yu’s delightful stop animation video or clay animation of her travels on a bus in the U.S. offer an insight into the feeling of the collective feminine. The character’s outburst to the catcalls yet inability to act is a feeling many women can relate to. Yoyo catches it with such clairvoyance that we feel we are living it.
A glimpse into the souls of our youth is a gift for all to cherish. HKFOREWORD23 offers a moment in time to understand through art the thoughts and concerns of Hong Kong artists today. Art is a lasting material for society to embrace as a collective journey. May we take a moment to reflect on their musings and embrace the creative process of our time.
