iPRECIATION is delighted to present award winning Hong Kong artist Tse Yim On, showcasing a selection of artworks dating from 2006 – 2010. The exhibition will also showcase Tse’s unique Artist’s Books, dating from 1998 to 2005. Viewers will be able to chart the artist’s developments at this inaugural showcase at iPRECIATION Hong Kong.

Tse Yim On Artist’s Book won him the Hong Kong Urban Council Fine Art Award in 1998. This young, eclectic artist whose audacious, animation-inspired creations are suggestive, mocking interpretations of Hong Kong’s subculture. Although the conveyance of ‘Otaku’ (a Japanese term describing individuals with obsessive interests toward animation, comics and games) is prevalent, the acrylic, canvas based cartoonesque realm which includes figures from manga and video games is a means to an end: a result that strives to represent the social and political effects of globalisation on a dynamic, capitalised city-state.

The wild, fanatical colours that brandish Tse’s paintings correspond impeccably with the provocative subject matter, as violent, sexual themes are assertively splashed across the canvas, satirising an individual’s existence in this current age; making apparent the escalation of a dubious social structure that could demean cultural values, attaining to a type of moral ambiguity that is exalted and embraced by youths. By employing this candid, universal theme, Tse Yim On has realised his aim of expressing recondite issues through art, enabling viewers to tackle with ease and pleasure, the complex subjects that lie beneath the surface. Filled with humorous, effervescent characters, each protagonist (or antagonist) is usually representative of individuals from popular culture, or a cliché- enthused figure borne from the mind’s eye of a population.

Tse’s previous series of paintings were more sexually overt, exploiting the young, disillusioned female figure; her lithe, mentally vulnerable frame a hopeless unit, in comparison to the surrounding lights, whirlwind of colour and chaos. The artist’s desire to formulate a linkage between materialism and moral ambiguity is clear, as he exposes a discard of ethical attributes resulting from excessive egotism, a characteristic when taken to a cruel extreme, is capably flaunted by Tse’s menacing, cynical caricatures. The artist’s latest series of artworks, not utterly devoid of lustful innuendoes, is imbued with greater political aggression, a complementary masculine infusion amplifying the forthright nature of his paintings. Daring, intoxicating, and deliberately goading, Tse’s paintings never cease to inflict bewilderment, provoking a questionable stance amongst viewers, a probing initiation that is in stark contrast to the ignorant, uninhibited stance of his characters.