Five participating artists: Chan Oi Yan (anthotype), Chang Yue Lam (printmaking & installation), Hung Ching Yan (installation), Leung Mong Sum (photography) and Vera Chiu (painting).

Chan Oi Yan (b. 1989, Hong Kong) is currently studying at Hong Kong Art School (B.A. in Fine Arts / Photography).

Chan’s elegantly made anthotype images of the stone wall Chinese banyan trees speak to the value of the natural environment in the life of this densely populated city. Chan photographed the over-a-century-old Chinese banyan trees located in Forbes Street, Kennedy Town, and collected their leaves to produce sensitizer. The artist creates an intimate experience for the audience to observe this uniquely formed oasis scenery that blends together nature and culture, also to encounter the smells of nature at a close distance. The quickly fading tree images and leaf scents are alarming us the silently disappearance of nature in our city and the urge of protecting both nature and culture in Hong Kong.

Chang Yue Lam (b. 1992, Hong Kong) graduated from Taipei National University of Arts (B.A. in Fine Arts) in 2017.

Chang’s archival art installation makes historical information of the Nanman language, also known as Cantonese, which is the predominant spoken language of the majority of Hong Kong people in everyday life and is also widely spoken in Southeastern China. Chang’s work speaks to his identity as Hong Kong Chinese and the value of culture and history of Hong Kong. His installation entitled Nanman Syllabary features a hand carved movable type woodblock, digital print images, woodblock imprints, pencil sketches and sound work. Chang elaborates on the history and the existing phonetic system of his mother language, which seems to be gradually neglected and diminished in favor of Mandarin in the modern Chinese society. The artist reinvents culture through carry out research, review and re-examine the phonetics of Cantonese, and given the spoken language a more important status as a personal identity of the Hong Kong people.

Hung Ching Yan (b.1993, Hong Kong) graduated from The Hong Kong Baptist University (B.A. in Visual Arts Studies) in 2016.

Hung Ching Yan’s installation work features two photo books, a series of her photographed images of her mother’s personal objects, and three selected prints from another photo book. Hung’s work deals with the relationship with her mother and grandmother, it is also a visual dialogue and narrative of three generations of women from the same family. The two photo books contain images of Hung and her mother photographed each other secretly with disposable camera, and photographs of both daughter and mother taken by Hung’s father. In her photo installation, the artist shows a series of images of her mother’s store up objects, which she quietly stole from the house on a daily basis and photographed them individually for one year. On the other hand, the three selected prints reveals fragments of her grandmother’s life after her pass away. The work is filled with sadness and her struggles in getting to know the two most important women in her life.

Leung Mong Sum (b. 1995, Hong Kong) graduated from The City University of Hong Kong (B.A. in Creative Media) in 2016.

The black-and-white photography of Leung Mong Sum reflects his confusion, anxiety and fear towards the status of social conflict and political instability in Hong Kong. The ten photographs entitled The Flag of Hong Kong, Waving in the Wind are presented together as a movement sequence, each stop frame image shows an individual motion of a waving flag in a rather poetic gesture. Leung soften the serious manner of the regional flag by focusing on the aesthetic and sculptural shapes of the waving flag. When black-and-white photographs always tend to remind people of the news and documentary images, Leung’s photography work as a metaphor reveals the complex emotions of Hong Kong people under the uncertain political climate over the past few years in Hong Kong. Leung’s work speaks to now, to the personal and collective tensions.

Vera Chiu (b. 1983, Hong Kong) graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (M.A. in Visual Cultural Studies) in 2013.

Vera’s recent work explores the flexibility of painting as an art form. By applying different discarded objects she found in everyday life on canvas, the artist has created a vibrant visual dialogue and given new status to painting itself. Vera sees the beauty of the discarded objects and structure, in which she has established a way to shape her painting into a three-dimensional art form. The tactile quality in her collage paintings visually encourages the audience to touch her works, which is also the artist’s intention. Vera experiments various materials with paint on canvas, and by breaking down the found objects, she transforms and reconstruct the bits and pieces into abstract paintings.