For his first-ever solo exhibition in Hong Kong, Zhang Enli built a low-ceiling cardboard chamber with a thick central pillar, inviting viewers to move deeper through the installation before returning to its opening. Thick and earthy green, brown, and yellow brushstrokes are layered across rows and columns of square cartons posing as walls, occasionally broken by blue patches to conjure images of Hong Kong’s thriving, densely-spaced environment against the city’s well-defined geometric shapes. Contrasts of light and shadows create a sense of mystery, immersing the viewer in a cocoon where each new facade may invoke a personal memory of the fragrant harbour.

In addition to this special installation, the exhibition also includes two of Zhang Enli’s recent paintings – ‘Space’ and ‘Container’ – featuring the artist’s signature iconography, made famous for using everyday objects and spaces as main subject matters to impart new life to the world of the mundane. While ‘Space’ is one of Zhang’s latest works, ‘Container’ is an earlier painting completed in 2002 – the year the artist moved to a new studio. According to Zhang, subjects in his paintings reflect the changes in his creative path and more generally in everyone’s life, bringing new insights as our surrounding environments evolve. Much like our own bodies, art works too can “breathe” and need to be refreshed once their original purpose is fulfilled.

The theme of “Space Painting” is a body of work started by Zhang Enli in 2010, where walls, floors, cardboard boxes or cartons become the artist’s canvas, providing observers with a renewed sense of the space that surrounds them. Influenced by ancient Chinese frescoes, Zhang Enli draws from his training in Chinese ink-and-brush techniques to create immersive environments that combine elements of his urban surroundings as well as more personal reflections of his childhood experiences.

Image : Space Painting (2013),
installation view.
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
© Zhang Enli, Courtesy of the artist