Spotlight on Hong Kong
Take a walk down memory lane at Asia Art Archive’s 20th anniversary fundraising auction — a creative reminder of what makes Hong Kong
Angela Yuen, The Puzzle III, 2020. Plastic toys, perspex, resin, LED lights, motor and beads, 41 × 43 × 32cm. Generously donated by the artist and Contemporary by Angela Li
Though the works at this year’s Asia Art Archive fundraising auction are likely destined for different forever homes, seeing them all at once is an inspiring reminder that although Hong Kong is often mentioned more as an art market than as an incubator of creative talent, the city has long been home to promising artists that are well worth noting in the annals of history — or, more specifically, documented in the AAA’s libraries as part of its mission to bolster local talent.
Works on auction by Hong Kong artists go as far back as the 1960s, when a painter called Luis Chan took English landscape watercolours and melded them with Chinese ink techniques and motifs, creating pieces such as Two Magicians, a colourful canvas that pays homage to traditional Chinese painting just as it subverts the practice, infusing it with whimsy and a sense of humour — what has come to be a defining characteristic of Hong Kong as a whole as well as of its art scene.
Luis Chan, Two Magicians, 1972. Acrylic on paper, 69.5 × 45.7cm. Generously donated by Hanart TZ Gallery
Another piece that harks back a number of decades is Yau Leung’s Support, a striking photograph donated by Blindspot Gallery, a space known for its discerning taste and roster filled with young and cutting-edge photographers and video artists. ‘For me, there’s a pathos in Yau’s pictures that is linked to post-war hardships, but also acts as a reminder of the resilience of the Hong Kong people,’ says Nick Yu, the gallery’s development manager. In fact, the mere existence of this image speaks to an indomitable spirit. ‘There was no established photography market at the time in Hong Kong, and this print wasn’t made for sale, meaning the artist likely made it for the sake of experimentation or exhibition, making this proof highly valued in the contemporary specialist photography market.’ Though Yau is often referred to as Hong Kong’s Cartier-Bresson, this contextualisation of his work within a Western cannon perhaps belittles the importance of his subject matter, Hong Kong’s proletariat. As much as Support is a strong example of street photography of its day, there is a tone to it that is also quintessentially Hong Kong.
Yau Leung, Support, 1960–70s. Vintage gelatin silver print, 19 × 47.5cm. Generously donated by Blindspot Gallery
The auction lots also traverse the early greats of the contemporary art scene — the wave of currently mid-career artists who were the first to earn international recognition. The ad exec-turned-artist Stanley Wong, who calls himself anothermountainman, is best known for his reclamation of Hong Kong’s red, white and blue bags as an art and design phenomenon. For this year’s auction, however, we see a quieter side to him in reborn ikebana, a collaboration with ikebana master Shuho that resulted in a series of prints that trace the cycle of life and death.
anothermountainman (Stanley Wong), reborn ikebana / anothermountainman X shuho, 2011. Inkjet print on archival rice paper (set of seven), 120 × 25cm (each image); 127.7 × 30.5cm (each paper). Edition 2 of 10. Generously donated by the artist
Meanwhile, figurative painter Wilson Shieh’s alternative application of the gongbi realist technique is represented in Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower, a special commission created for the auction and part of an ongoing series depicting women in ‘clothing’ that represents Hong Kong architectural icons.
Wilson Shieh, Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower, 2020. Chinese ink, watercolour and acrylic gouache on silk, 79 × 60cm (image); 100 × 81.5cm (paper). Generously donated by the artist
And Lee Kit, the artist who is fascinated by the ordinary and who has represented Hong Kong in the Venice Biennale, applies paint to cardboard in You are eating yourself, a poignant reminder to look beneath the surface of things.
Lee Kit, You are eating yourself, 2018. Acrylic, emulsion paint, inkjet ink and pencil on cardboard, 40 × 47cm. Generously donated by the artist and Massimo de Carlo
The use of quotidian materials is a running theme with local artists, including Leelee Chan, an up-and-comer whose sculptures made with found objects earned her this year’s prestigious BMW Art Journey award. For this auction, Chan, who is the daughter of an antiques dealer, took a broken tomb figure that dates back to the Ming dynasty and gave it a new lease on life in her studio with the help of seashells, fake flowers and polystyrene, creating Performer #1.
Leelee Chan, Performer #1, 2020. Broken pottery tomb figure head from Ming dynasty (1300–1600 AD), polystyrene foam, seashell, artificial flower, fiberglass, resin, pigment, and metal stand, 14 × 5.7 × 5.7cm. Generously donated by the artist
But it doesn’t get more ordinary than the phrase, ‘How are you?’ In a striking work featuring artists and their pets juxtaposed with an inverted landscape, called How Are You, Actually?, Nicole Wong looks at how we communicate between the lines. ‘This set of prints is symbolic of the abstract mindscape,’ Wong explains, ‘as well as the distance in communication. How often do we tell the truth when answering this question?’
Nicole Wong, How Are You, Actually?, 2016. Inkjet digital print (triptych), 25.5 × 20.5cm; 48 × 22.8cm; 18.8 × 15.3cm. Generously donated by the artist and Rossi & Rossi
In a year fraught with politics and the pandemic, social dissent and social distancing, the answer to that question certainly isn’t easy. As it becomes increasingly difficult to define what Hong Kong is and will be, perhaps all we can do is immerse ourselves in its creative history, a reminder of what truly makes this city what it is.
Text / Christina Ko
The full collection of artworks in this year’s Asia Art Archive’s fundraising auction are available for online bidding until October 30th 2020.
