“80% of all marine waste is from the land. Only 20% is from the ocean. 80% of marine waste is plastic. 80% of the Great Pacific Gyre is plastic, and the Gyre weighs a total of 3.5 million tons. 80% of people will do nothing about it. Are you in the 20%?”
Michelle Kuen Suet Fung
Hong Kong artist, Michelle Kuen Suet Fung’s latest works in her solo exhibition at Art Projects Gallery, titled “80/20”, calls for attention to the plight of wildlife affected by the ecological damage caused by humans, with particular scrutiny to the impact of human plastic consumption on marine life.
Michelle Fung’s works in the “80/20” series portray an ironically celebratory atmosphere that belie the solemnity of the underlying environmental issue, as a way to evoke deeper contemplation by the viewers who upon closer inspection, would realize that the colorful, confetti-like festive elements were in fact plastic debris and other harmful materials that are plaguing animal life.
Rendered in mixed media of ink, pigment, graphite and color pencil, Michelle Fung’s highly detailed works can be seen as a visually stunning ecological rally through art, to call upon viewers to reflect on the human impact on the natural world and increase the awareness of the environmental issue.
About the Artist
Belonging to a generation of young western-trained Hong Kong artist, Michelle returned to Hong Kong in 2011 to pursue her art career after living almost two decades in Vancouver, Canada. Owing to her multi-faceted background and international outlook, she draws inspirations from a wide range of sources and popular sub-cultures, including fairy tales, children’s picture books, the Japanese Otaku, fifteenth-century European etching, as well as traditional Chinese painting. Animals and their relationships with humans, explored from various intellectual and philosophical angles whether emotional, sustenance, or environmental, is a long recurring thread in her works.
In March 2010, she was awarded an artist residency at Canada’s prestigious Banff Centre. In July 2013, she traveled to Listhús Art Space, Iceland, for a month-long residency. Her works have been exhibited in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea and China. Her exhibition I Don’t Know if You Know How Much I Love You (March 2012) was the first solo show at hi art store, a gallery project of Beijing art tycoon Wu Jing. In November 2012, she began to work with Michael Goedhuis Gallery (London, U.K.) that has an international reputation of dealing Asian art for over two decades. She was declared as a winner of the Young Artist Competition organized by Asia Top Gallery Hotel Art Fair 2012 and also received an Award of Excellence in the Second Greater China Illustration Awards. Her works have been featured in the media numerous times, and are in international private collections, and The Canada Council Art Bank.
The “80/20” solo exhibition opens at Art Projects Gallery at PMQ on 06 November 2014 and ends on 28 November 2014.
About Art Projects Gallery
Art Projects Gallery is a Hong Kong-based art gallery established in March 2010 that specializes in contemporary fine arts. Founded by two architects, Anng Tan and Rayvees Goh, Art Projects Gallery represents established artists as well as emerging artists, with the aim to promote and encourage artistic innovation in content, technique and medium.
