Some believe that art formed based on everyday life. Through different experiences of living, it ignites artist’s desire of expression. Perhaps, creativity is a gate from the inner world of the artist. With much of focus and enthusiasm in the process of creating art, it leads the artist close to “On Cloud Nine”, an English slang expressing a state of blissful happiness. Titled “Cloud 9”, it implies a state dedicated in the process of creating art, immersed in imagining, swinging between reality and imagination. This is a joint exhibition of five recent graduates from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, referring to the state of complete devotion in art. From the common sentiments of apprehension, fear and isolation they shared and experienced in life, together the five young talents explore the diversity between “weightlessness” and “lightness” with various media and artistic approaches.

Influenced by artist Patrick Caulfield and Taoist cosmology, Ho Kwun Ting creates two dimensional outlines in three dimensional spaces, so as to challenge the habits of outlining, and also hint the importance of objects and its absence.

Through self-reflection on personal experience and memories, Shum Kwan Hon shows his concern of human fate in his ink works. With dry brushes, coarse lines, simple strokes and distorted portraits, Shum recites the myth of life and death.

With needle and thread, Tsang See Wan (Iris) embroiders words onto cloths and fabrics. The repetitive act of embroidery is like prayers and rituals, dividing the enormous pain into tolerable doses. It began with the mourning of the deceased, ended as a pilgrimage to self-discovery and rebirth for the living.

Wong Sze Mei describes herself as living in a tiny drawer filled with books, images and fragments of Hong Kong. She stores her memories in her body and uses video to contemplate. Wong’s video works focus on the boundaries of verbal communication, while aphasia is her last resort of confrontation.

The drawings by Tong Kam Ting (Ann) emphasize the fragile existence of individuals. Tong reveals the anxiety and despair beneath the peace of monochrome – The sentimental state of loss for the contemporary.

Featured artists: Tsang See Wan, Iris, Wong Sze Mei, Ho Kwun Ting, Shum Kwan Hon and Tong Kam Ting, Ann.

Image: © Wong Sze Mei, EC Gallery