HONG KONG AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2024 -10 Chancery Lane Gallery is proud to present the 13th edition of HKFOREWORD in 2024, which introduces new art from Hong Kong through its latest art graduates. This year we have selected 13 artists from 4 Hong Kong universities, 11 graduates and 2 who are still studying. The exhibition includes painting, video, installation, ceramic, ink drawing, sculpture, animation and photography. The HKFOREWORD 2024 exhibition offers a new perspective on the artistic development in Hong Kong. It provides insight into the preoccupations and inspirations that are driving the work of local artists.
We are honored to present:
| Cheng Cheuk Wang, Cody
Cecilia Chiang Yuko Fukuba Johnsson Fung Yee Tin, Thomas He Mingyi, Rina |
Inkgo Lam
Ellis Lau Jennifer Lee Wong Wan Hang, Caleb Yeung Nga Fei, Alice Valerie Ying |
This generation of artists has been formed into adults with a changing Hong Kong political landscape and COVID-19’s inundation on their lives. Most of these artists would have been in secondary school during the 2019 mass protests that have led to thousands of Hong Kong youth being prosecuted under the tightened National Security Law. “These moves have by and large ended mass public protests and silenced many Hong Kong residents who fought for democracy. Thousands of people, including prominent activists and students, have fled the city.1” Where last year’s group of graduates were emerging from the Covid-19 restrictions into a newfound freedom, the works had more colour, frivolity, and spontaneity. This year has taken a softer tone and expression. These recent exhibitions contrast with our 2020 HKFOREWORD exhibition which included a work by Felix Tang that painted an abstract of Article 23 and Sophie Cheung who created a work by erasing the Apple Daily newspaper. It seems that young artists today are veering away from the direct engagement of current-day Hong Kong issues.
The art showcased in HKFOREWORD24 offers a rare and valuable glimpse into the souls of our youth. This exhibition provides a window into the thoughts, concerns, and lived experiences of Hong Kong artists today. Art has the power to capture the zeitgeist of our times, serving as a lasting material for society to collectively embrace. In experiencing this artwork, we are invited to reflect deeply on the musings and creative processes of the next generation.
Let us take a moment to immerse ourselves in the artwork, allowing it to expand our empathy and appreciation for the diverse voices shaping the cultural landscape of Hong Kong and beyond.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Cheng Cheuk Wang, Cody (b. 2002, Hong Kong) recently received his Bachelor of Arts from the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University. Cheng Cheuk Wang, Cody is an illustrator and comics artist. Illustration works primarily revolve around a blend of realistic storytelling infused with a touch of conceptual elements to present the narrative. In addition, he also engages in comic creation that caters to a more traditional and mainstream audience. The expression within the works is conveyed through the power of narrative storytelling and the incorporation of abstract concepts. Through his works, he provides a space for contemplation, allowing the audience to reflect on their current circumstances. Additionally, he creates gaps that enable the audience to overlap themselves with the characters in the story. The work presented, Synthetic Porn Behind the Scenes, touches on the deep fake and artificial intelligence platforms through a hyperrealist drawing with a complex narrative that draws us into multiple dimensions aiming to make the audience feel a bit creepy.
Cecilia Chiang (b. 2002, Hong Kong) is studying Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Cecilia Chiang creates oil paintings as her primary artistic medium in an effort to make herself more understood in society. She constructs single-view visual moments by using records and description as a foundation for her interpretation of unsteady ideas. She believes she can develop her ability to evaluate outside impressions more accurately and adopt a sincere perspective on life. Sonorous lines and delicate brushstrokes are features of Chiang's paintings, which pay close attention to how various items' textures are presented on the canvas. She paints realistic and thought-provoking images that reflect her resonance with the phenomena around her. In addition to interacting with the characters in the paintings, viewers can picture Chiang's living circumstances by following the hints provided and approach reading the pieces to get to know one another better.
Yuko Fukuba Johnsson (b. 1973, Tokyo, Japan) recently received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology/Hong Kong Art School. Johnsson is a practicing ceramic artist based in Hong Kong, under the theme of Ceramics as Memory Container. For her, memory means a combination of facts, including time and place, together with qualia - subjective experiences with the senses. She is fascinated by ceramics as a medium of “containment” with the long human history that people have been making and using ceramics not only for practical use but also symbolically to “contain” something within to materialise the invisible, like beliefs and wishes. The flexible or fragile clay body and mixed minerals change its properties drastically into solid and permanent once it is fired. The long-making process gives her enough time to recollect the moment she is putting into the work. Ceramics is an accurate medium for her to create containers for ephemeral memories and future histories, coalescing her qualia into them to give the invisible a permanent form to preserve them.
Fung Yee Tin, Thomas (b.1993, Hong Kong) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2019. He is currently an MFA candidate in the same school. His work examines the possibilities of hybridizing painting with printmaking and re-visits the relationship between printmaking, painting, and digital technology. The work uses silkscreen printing to reproduce the void pattern of Photoshop, representing a sense of emptiness. The work functions as both an act of additive (printmaking) and a subtractive (digital) process. Fung sees analogue printing as both brushstrokes and visual language and re-examines the plasticity between printmaking and painting. The work presents the artist's daily life, depicting the artist's studio companions. The work uses the metaphor of emptiness to allude to the deficiencies of identity in the era. His practise focuses on painting, printmaking, ink art and installation.
He Mingyi, Rina (b.1999, Guangdong, China) recently received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He Mingyi, Rina primarily researches modern ink painting and mixed media creations. She often adopts natural materials such as wooden boards, plant seeds, and clay as art medium, and utilizes the unique properties of these materials to express the mystery and power of nature. Centred around her observations of the city, nature, and life, she integrates ink and natural media, seeking a balance within the interacting changes between the ink traces and the materials. Her works embody a subtle fusion of human intervention and the forces of nature, and this organic uncertainty imbues the artworks with vitality. They often feature a coexistence of abstraction and realism, rationality and emotionality, transforming her observations of everyday urban life to present the audience with a distinctive visual experience. In addition to exploring nature and life, her works also reflect her contemplation on the relationship between humanity and the natural world.
Ho Wing Wa, Ernest (b.1983, Guangdong, China) recently received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Ho Wing Wa, Ernest uses printing as his artistic medium, emphasizing the expressive quality of brushstrokes, semi-abstract forms, and layered materiality. Inspired by Chinese calligraphy and painting, as well as his daily experiences, Ho explores the possibilities of calligraphic lines, spatial relationships, and the inherent properties of his materials. His artworks defy categorization, using lines to break down predetermined forms and spaces, resulting in abstract and ambiguous compositions. Ho's artworks are characterized by thin layers of paint that obscure yet intentionally reveal traces of the painting process, treating the act of painting as an integral part of the work, thereby introducing a sense of temporality. His painting process is not a linear execution of a preconceived sketch, but rather a responsive evolution to the moment's sensations. Ho's paintings attempt to explore the intricate and fragile relationship between humanity and the cosmic order of nature, utilizing lines to connect, separate, or construct these systems from which people cannot escape.
Inkgo Lam (b. 1992, Hong Kong) received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014 and apprenticed under bamboo Master Lui Ming. After graduating, Inkgo Lam, in 2020, began learning bamboo craftsmanship from Master Lui through the Intangible Cultural Heritage Educational Program. Lam admires the spirit of artisans who focus solely on one thing throughout their lifetime and aspires to pass on this craftsmanship through her creations. She aims to transform bamboo into an artistic language and bring the aesthetics of ancient Chinese craftsmanship into contemporary art. Lam believes that the spirit of craftsmanship encompasses beauty and virtue, and through mutual learning and breakthroughs, it can endure.
Ellis Lau (b. 2000, Hong Kong) recently received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology/Hong Kong Art School. Ellis Lau believes that fashion models are not merely tools used to present an image, but rather co-creators and stakeholders in the process. His work attempts to overturn the existing practice and concepts where photographers have traditionally been seen as the dominant figure, with a strong sense of self-presentation, while models are often treated as the objectified subject, whose consciousness is rarely discussed or easily overlooked. But in his creative process, he hopes there is a dynamic interplay between the two. The distribution of power in photography can be a two-way flow, like a tug-of- war, where only through the mutual pulling and pushing can tension be cultivated and a dynamic, non-formulaic work be created. Exploring the roles, power dynamics and their fluidity between the two parties is what he hopes to investigate through his work.
Jennifer Lee (b. 2002, Hong Kong) recently received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Jennifer Lee primarily uses seal carving and video as her mediums into a reconstructive narrative. Her interactive video invites the audience to engage in the story. She focuses on the process of seal carving and its traditional significance, reinterpreting the expressive approach of seal carving and conveying her personal feelings towards the themes. She also brings out the subject matter in a light-hearted and entertaining manner in her voice- over videos. Lee uses a humorous and genuine way, combined with appealing approaches that resonate with Hong Kong people, such as wordplay and gossip, to attract the audience and generate empathy. Lee’s work hopes to convey love and promote the importance of love through her works.
Li Hoi Yee, Eilly (b.2002, Hong Kong) recently received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Li Hoi Yee, Eilly uses her art practices to present sentimental emotions and moments of serenity amid uncertainties and turbulences in life. Focusing on the minute details and fleeting moments in life, she draws inspiration from her photography, choosing the immersive oil painting process to revisit the flowing sceneries and capture the transience of life. Inspired by literature, Li adopts the ambiguity of metaphor to reiterate the unspoken meaning and ambiance of her art-making. She broke through the two-dimensionality of painting by integrating light installations to create poetic forms of painting. This responds to her continuous interest in light and shadow as the subject matter and echoes her search for possibilities to depict the invisible and explore higher dimensions through art.
Wong Wan Hang, Caleb (b. 2000, Hong Kong) recently received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology/Hong Kong Art School. Wong Wan Hang, Caleb is a photographer. He has a strong interest in religious themes and concepts related to life and death, particularly within the Christian domain. These themes are woven into his artistic pursuits. Wong frequently employs traditional photographic techniques, such as multiple exposures and light painting, to express his artistic vision through visual storytelling. His works reflect the tension between faith and life experiences, as well as his ongoing exploration driven by curiosity about faith.
Yeung Nga Fei, Alice (b.2000 Hong Kong) recently received her Bachelor of Arts from the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University. Yeung had a semester exchange programme at the Bauhaus University Weimar. Yeung's main media include drawing, painting, and ceramics, with a focus on the possibilities of mineral pigment painting. In the past few years, she has been focusing on the research and production of mineral pigment, studying the colours of Hong Kong's local soil to produce her own pigments. She believes that the subject matter of contemporary mineral paintings is not only limited to myths and religions, but also inspired by daily life moments. She uses the special texture of mineral colours to convey a life- like perspective in her paintings.
Valerie Ying (b. 2002, Hong Kong) recently received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Media from City University of Hong Kong. Valerie Ying is a skilled artist proficient in 2D hand-drawn animation, with a keen interest in audio mixing and music creation. Her focus on abstract animation is driven by the limitless creative opportunities it presents and embraces a creative ethos where the only limitation for creativity is the mind itself. In a landscape abundant with narratively driven animations, Ying poses a question: why not craft animations purely for visual allure, transcending the constraints of linear storytelling? Her aspiration is for viewers to engage with her work and ponder the depths of her imaginative world. In her 3.5-minute animation “Journey Beyond”, the film ventures into the intriguing realm of the afterlife from a positive and imaginative perspective. It offers a non-linear exploration of the afterlife’s stages, providing a glimpse into the ethereal journey that awaits beyond mortality. Through her creative lens, Ying challenges the conventional portrayal of death as ominous, instead presenting it as a mysterious and thought-provoking passage for departing souls.
ABOUT 10 CHANCERY LANE GALLERY
Established in 2001, when Hong Kong’s art scene was burgeoning, Katie de Tilly started 10 Chancery Lane Gallery. Along the back wall of the, then running, Victoria Prison, now the buzzing Tai Kwun Heritage and Cultural site, the little walking lane opened into a gallery specializing in contemporary art from the Asia-Pacific. Over the past 23 years, 10 Chancery Lane has worked with some of the region’s great artists, curators, and museums. The gallery’s motto still stands: “We are committed to giving a breath of fresh air to the Hong Kong art scene by bringing works that can expand horizons, open minds, and view the world, and life in general, through varying eyes, ideas, and souls. Art is not just decoration for our walls but a connection with our deep inner selves and the world around us.”
