Q6na3dy0qx.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
01 2005 02 03 「INK CITY」 INK CITY is a thematic group exhibition presenting works by artists who have an inclination towards ink art and articulate a social voice on the notion of living together in a contemporary urban environment. However broadly or narrowly defined, ink art draws upon the practices and concepts of traditional ink painting and, in a contemporary context, reflects on the development of new techniques and forms of personal expression that incorporate an ink aesthetic. Through a selection of paintings, calligraphy, artists books, installations, and video works spanning over fifty years, the exhibited works collectively showcase ink art s dynamic interpretation as well as the social narratives of an age marked by intense transformation. Rooted in Hong Kong and extending across the Chinese world, the works confront the city s turbulent political transitions, from the twilight of the colonial era through to today s political and social challenges; other works address universal themes of gender, identity, desire, and fantasy, which unite the hugely divergent experiences of the new Chinese diaspora. Above all, the exhibition celebrates the vision of artists from different generations and of diverse backgrounds who are united by a passionate exploration of the transformative power of art to shape ideas and drive social awareness. INK CITY adopts its English title from the exhibited video work by the late artist Chen Shaoxiong. While Ink City is a video of a day- long journey composed of hundreds of ink wash observations that collectively convey a frenetic and fleeting transformation of the urban experience in China, the eponymous exhibition opts for its fragmentary approach in juxtaposing diverse artistic styles of ink art and visions which together form a shared narrative and sensibility. What unites the artists are the ways in which they are inspired by immediate encounters with contemporary life. This they engage with keen observations and eloquent commentaries, from the earnest to the whimsical, that are highly pertinent to the everyday. Seeking references beyond the material and spiritual associations of ink art such as brushwork, the spiritual essence of a subject, or literati history INK CITY opts to focus on selected artists who tackle contemporary social issues more overtly through ink art. Indeed, while some very established contemporary artists choose to reference the continuity of the traditional ink medium, others have decidedly moved away from the confines of a visual tradition 02 03 Chan evolved to document the then-British colony and reflect honestly on issues of racial integration, migration, sexuality, urbanism, and fantasy. He is exceptional for his ability to imbue whimsical images with a sophisticated intellectual rigour as well as for his later confidence in artistic experimentation. These characteristics attest to the conceptual complexity of Hong Kong art, rapidly developing and balanced between the exuberance of form and the earnestness of concern. The vitality of Hong Kong art has roots in the use of ink as the chosen medium for outspoken public and performance art. One example is the artist-as-activist Tsang Tsou-Choi, also better known as King of Kowloon, who spent a lifetime writing his family s genealogy on utility boxes, pillars, and other public surfaces in Luis Chan | Untitled (The Indian and His Company) (1981) | order to reclaim land that he was convinced had been stolen from | Ink and colour on paper 69 x 135.5 cm his family by the British colonial authorities. In other cases, ink Courtesy of Luis Chan Trust serves as a conceptual tool for creating public interventions, as with Frog King Kwok, arguably the first performance artist in China transforming ink art into an artistic language that engages with who has incorporated ink painting in eccentric mixed-media, graffiti wider developments in the 20th and 21st centuries. In acknowledging ink installations, and performances in Hong Kong since 1967. His a contemporary legacy forged by the pioneers of the New Ink highly unconventional artistic practice, immersive and entertaining, Movement in Hong Kong including Lui Shou-kwan, Wucius Wong, also resonates on some level with the high energy and visual and Irene Chou, who developed new techniques from traditional profusion of life on the city s streets. ink art and championed personal expression rooted in its rich historic tradition INK CITY continues to expand on contemporary life and Hong Kong is an ideal focal point for the exhibition because it personal relationships at the intersection of ink art and society today. is synonymous with urbanism and offers multiple perspectives on urban life, complete with its attendant social challenges. No matter how heavy it rains, I still see Hong Kong through the While Frog King Kwok addresses the excessive waste of material gaps between raindrops. consumerism, the artists Sherry Fung Hoi Shan and Joey Leung – Lam Tung Pang, 2020 Ka Yin explore issues related to water scarcity and limited space through their colourful and meticulously rendered gongbi paintings. Hong Kong provides an ideal focal point through which to view In stark contrast, Chu Hing-Wah, a psychiatric nurse by training, the conceptual breadth of contemporary ink art in this exhibition. provides quiet yet powerful meditations on mental health and Comprised of hundreds of disparate islands and with its liminal feelings of isolation a sentiment paradoxically all too common in position between a continental landmass and an archipelagic sea, large cities. His self-taught approach refreshingly lacks the burdens Hong Kong serves as a node that is at once swept by a confluence of traditional training and reflects an unpretentious and honest of influence and one that seeks to master such tides. Its history, too, has been marked by more than a century of transitional moments, with its share of efflorescence and tumult. This multifaceted heritage makes for distinctive perspectives and practices with respect to the millennial tradition of ink art in China and to more recent developments. This relevance of the city can be seen with Luis Chan, one of the beacons of the exhibition, whose extensive artistic range speaks Joey Leung Ka Yin | The Listless Lion (2017) | Ink, gouache, ball pen, acrylic and to the zeitgeist of modern Hong Kong. Beginning his career with coloured pencil on paper | Diptych, each 36 x 104 cm watercolours of scenic vistas of the islands painted en plein air, Courtesy of the artist and Joseph Pang 04 05 experience of life. Lam Tung Pang, meanwhile, presents one of the most sensitive approaches to addressing the traumas of a city. His allegorical works Reforming Landscape (2019) and Image-Coated (2021) have an apparent bleakness that is nevertheless embraced by a hopeful yearning and a desire to reflect, heal, and re-emerge. Given that a good number of works tackle concerns that are rooted in a dense urban environment, it is ironic that this exhibition was conceived during a time when the richness of in-person interactions has been completely upended by COVID-19. This uniquely isolating period has, however, resulted in new works that offer personal views of a pandemic reality since late 2019. Zhang Yanzi confined to an apartment in New York for over a year and unable to travel home created a long handscroll (a format well suited for painting in restricted spaces) entitled Painted Skin (2020), which chronicles masks and their connotations throughout history. Li Jin reflected on a tumultuous year of societal change, the shifting winds of political regimes, and the continuation of life in contrasting spheres of the private and the public. Contrary to many of Li Jin s jovial displays of the human condition, The Ups and Downs of the World (2020) takes Wilson Shieh | Hong Kong Before 1997 & Hong Kong After 1997 (2017) | on a more sober tone, with contrasting scenes of contemplation and Chinese ink and watercolour on paper | Diptych, each 80 x 50 cm confrontation. Courtesy of the artist and Joseph Pang Reimagining history and social narratives is a crucial means for contemporary art to foster conversations and spur momentum towards awareness and change, especially in addressing Hong Kong s unique history. While stylistically very different, the works by Howie Tsui and Frank Tang Kai Yiu allude to struggles and conflicts that are visualised in a conflation of the city s history and social commentary. Howie Tsui s dynamic algorithmic animation, Parallax Chambers (2018-ongoing), portrays the anarchic universe of a martial arts fantasy fiction as the ungoverned community of the historic Kowloon Walled City; the claustrophobic panic thus conjured hints at a visceral memory of the demolished site, with a sense of dissent right under the surface. In stylistic contrast, Frank Tang Kai Yiu quietly documents Hong Kong s layered histories in contention for nearly two centuries between competing forces from Great Britain, Japan, and China by diagramming the storied statues, landmarks, and symbols in the city s history, most notably the statue of Queen Victoria. Of all icons, Queen Victoria has been a popular symbol during Hong Kong s transitional moments and a target during periods of civil unrest. The statue of Queen Victoria, Frank Tank Kai Yiu | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens (2020) | along with other figures and buildings, frequently recurs in the Ink and colour on paper | 94 x 73.5 cm highly allegorical works of Wilson Shieh. One of his best-known Courtesy of the artist series moreover reimagines buildings as human figures, with the 06 07 animations offering complex, multilayered narratives that obliquely question the manipulation of history and memory. While the exhibition provides visual cues to the city s history and physical landscape, INK CITY also hints at deeper social dialogues about sexuality, femininity, and womanhood. Enamoured with the strong emotions often associated with the female nude across multiple painting traditions, Wei Dong paints explicit and raw scenes that depict almost grotesque nudes in discordant scenes, forcing the viewer to confront inherent contradictions.