Hong Kong Museum of Arts Close for 3 Years

I always loved visiting museums, especially something that has to do with the Arts, I just feel more alive when I do, thus somehow I felt sad when I learned that the Museum of Arts will be closed for renovation. Okay, I visited the museum probably once every two years, but I'm just not used to the idea. The last day it operated, I made it a point to visit it and explore it one last time. The museum is located in front of the harbor where you can see Hong Kong's famous skyline from the opposite island. It was a nice sunny day and so my husband, my brother and I went.

They are featuring this - All Are Guests collaboration featuring the artists: Leung Mee Ping; Chow Chun Fai; CoLAB x SLOW. The same exhibition appeared in Liverpool Biennial 2012 in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong week 2013 in Taipei.

Several videos were projected on a screen showing a subject being followed while wandering. What got me was this video shoot in the Philippines, young boys were being followed (I suspected around Manila), while they gather old newspapers, used bottles or what we call Kalakal. In the video, you can see a lot of garbage on the street, a jeep passing by (confirming it was indeed in the Philippines), a stray dog, other people just passing by or just sitting around. What I reflected with this video was that despite poverty, these kids managed to play around and remained cheerful while doing their job. I can also see perseverance, there was hope.

This was another exhibition which shows various artists' works. There was no specific theme but each of us got interested in a certain work, waking up sleeping inspirations inside of us. My younger brother got hooked with the running man made from ink, while my husband was watching a video which shows different shoes in different parts of the city - I believe the video was quite long. I was hooked in another video showing Family History of certain people, probably random memories that touches them, something they will remember for the rest of their life.

We were looking at the huge collection of Chinese Bamboo carvings donated by Dr. Ip Yee.

Another exhibition that captivated me were the works of Mr. Wu Guanzhong (1919 - 2010), a contemporary Chinese painter widely recognized as the founder of modern Chinese painting. He was also considered to be one of the greatest contemporary Chinese painter. I could not agree more, as I witnessed his wonderful works of art in the museum. He selflessly donated his works to the museums in the country and worldwide. The museum itself has a total of 77 pieces of Wu's works.

A Fishing Harbour
Dated 1997

Artist's Statement: Small painting, large fishing port, where black and white jostle in proximity and in conflict. While painting at a fishing port one year in the 1980s a storm rolled in, and I witnessed the scene of a flotilla of fishing boats hurrying to port for shelter. I sketched frantically and managed to catch the details. Several years later the sketch served as the basis for some large-format and medium-format works, in which I discarded the extraneous anecdotal details of the boats in an attempt to concentrate on atmosphere, balance, rhythm, and mystifying mathematics. Ironically, the motion resonance and spirit to which I aspired were caught in this, the smallest of the group of works.

Puzzlement
Dated 1998

Artist's statement: Flowing lines, intermittent dots, random shapes, the leaping and falling of colours... when they gather in the same space, they are like fierce snow that sweeps across the good and beauty of the mundane world, bewildering viewers with its indiscernible appearance. Representational subjects are absent, or one can describe them as abstract depictions; they are the incarnation of bits and pieces in the painter's anxious mind and fragment memory.

Remaining lotus flowers in ice and snow
Dated 1996

A lotus pond (Double stamping)
Dated 1995

There have been countless scrolls depicting the lotus in traditional Chinese painting, but their conformed style is not stirring. In the pond, large and small lotus leaves overlap, curves and straight lines intersect, even the reflections are hidden under the foliage, making it difficult to tell between the original and their reflection in water; I am like a big beneath the leaves, lost in the maze of foliage. I've painted lots of withered lotuses, focusing on the winding lines, rippling reflections, and their drooping forms.

"I studied the life journey of the lotus through observation. When depicting the lotus, it is not the flower or the pond that I paint, rather, it's the sentiments associated with lotuses and the approach to visualize such feelings with my brush that linger in my mind.!"

Don't you worry as Hong Kong still got a lot of museums to choose from, nearby there are the Space Museum, History Museum and the Cultural Centre. There are plenty of art galleries as well scattered across Hong Kong. What I love about this tiny country is that in the city compacted with people, you can always find people who are interested in their own culture, people who are interested in preserving their identity, people who never stop exploring what makes them unique.

So long MA, see you in 3 years!

Cindy Can Write

I love traveling and being immersed with different cultures. It has cultivated my love for learning and has exposed me to different perspectives. I'm a travel specialist during the day, an industry I have been with for more than five years now. Planning other people's trips has always been a mission. My favorite countries: South Africa and New Zealand.