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Art in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong was first discovered by the West in 1513[1] however had part of China as early as 221BC. It was founded as independent of Britain and resumed relations with China in 1997[2]. However the historical record of Hong Kong art only commences with the Western introduction, therefore the creation and development of its' art style has spanned just over 500 years. As the former British colony grew to become a dense urban centre, its' art has evolved to meet the requirements of a population that reached 7.4 million as of Monday the 24th of August 2018[3].

As the nation as grown and become more Asiatic, Hong Kong has developed its own original depictions of art and helped foster the works of many native artists such as Stanley Wong. The styles that are present throughout the origins of Hong Kong Art are inherently colonial, with little evidence to support the production of native residents early in its’ period. This then evolved as the people of Hong Kong began to engage with western developments of art through its entry into the 20th and 21st century. Eva K. W. Man wrote on the subject that, “Scholars agree that, since the mid-nineteenth century, Hong Kong has experienced more cultural interchange than any other Chinese city.”[4] With the establishment of a notable presence beginning in the early 1960s and still growing today.

Prominent art styles of Hong Kong have become inherently diverse despite its’ short history as a nation. However, it is noted that Hong Kong has not developed its own style, rather just interpretations of those introduced from Europe or China . Many artists engage in western styles such as Pop Art and the use of multimedia as technology has advanced.

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

The earlier centuries, art in Hong Kong was primarily dominated by Western influence and production. Native artists in Hong Kong did not gain historical status until the mid 20th century. The Hong Kong Museum of Art was founded in 1962. There is not much textual evidence for art produced in Hong Kong before the modern era, most works produced are for historical record (see Battle of Kowoon in the Gallery) and these works were primarily constructed by non-native artists such as George Chinnery, who spent most of his life in Asia but was born in England.

Recent (20th/21st Century)[edit]

The development of painting within Hong Kong art is primarily due to the immediate influence and relationship between China, The West and Hong Kong. Eva K. W. Man described that “the dominance of Western artistic methods in Hong Kong continued for several years after World War II as Western painting -- still life and realism in particular -- flourished in galleries and museums.”[5]

Handover Art[edit]

A particular art movement that allowed artists to create works inspired and commenting on the political unification of China and Hong Kong, and the British transfer of sovereignty over to Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. Though works were produced before, during and after the period in which this political realignment occurred. David Clarke notes that “a concern for the future was almost exclusively a characteristic of the pre-handover period.”[6] He further defines other characteristics of the post and pre-handover period as “retrospection”[7]. He regards that this was a “prominent feature of art produced in the years immediately before the transfer of sovereignty.

Examples of Handover Art include:

-         Danny Yung’s 1994, The Star, a mixed-media construction installed outside Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

-         Lee Ka-sing’s 1995, The Hero Playing with a Red Rubber Band, digital print.

-         Desmond Kum Chi-keung’s 1995, Transition Space, a mixed media construction.

Hybrid Art[edit]

Hybrid Art in relation to Hong Kong, is a style depicting elements of both Western artistic convention and traditional Chinese ideas. This particular form of art has been largely influential to the post-modern era of Hong Kong art. Wucius Wong, also mentioned in the Ink Painting Section, was key proponent of the beginnings of hybrid art. Additionally, artists such as Luis Chan and Antonio Mak, whose work was “essentially hybrid in nature” was understood by David Clarke that they “differ[ed] from that of [Wucius] Wong or Lui [Shou-Kwan], in that it  happily erodes both of the narratives with which it engages instead of attempting to uphold them.” [7]Therefore, Hybrid Art in the territory of Hong Kong was a cultural manifestations with political undertones.

Style[edit]

Ink Paintings[edit]

The presence of Ink Painting within Hong Kong Art is primarily due to the immediate influence and relationship between China and Hong Kong[8]. For the most part, Ink Painting in Hong Kong consists of traditional Chinese influences that have been appropriated with a Western idealised imaging, however explorations of traditional Chinese Ink Painting are also present in the earlier stages of Hong Kong Ink Painting[9][8]. Most popularly, shuimohua (literally meaning: water ink painting) was initially introduced to the art landscape of Hong Kong in 1960s. Wucius Wong believed that media shuimo “could more obviously express the identity of the Hong Kong people.”[8]

Since its’ introduction in the early 1960s, many collections of artists have offered their own iterations of Ink Painting. The use of Ink Painting in Hong Kong began with Lui Shou Kwan. In the late 1960s and 1970s, the major contributors to the use of Ink Painting were two art groups named, the In Tao Association and the One Art Group.[8]

Installation Art[edit]

Oscar Ho describes that the presence of installation art stems from “a natural outcome of the dramatic rise in the real estate market in the late Eighties, which simply made it impossible for young artists to afford their own studio space. Art making became urban guerrilla warfare; artists would make art wherever there was an opportunity and a venue … the highly flexible character of installation art resolved the critical space problem.”[10] As a relatively new art form (first produced in the 1980s), Installation art in Hong Kong suggests a modern development based of post-modern art theory.

In general, Installation Art is "used to describe large-scale, mixed-media constructions, often designed for a specific place or for a temporary period of time."[11] For example, the examples of Handover Art in regards to Yung's The Star and Kum Chi-Keung's Transition Space. Particularly in Hong Kong, graffiti art is a prominent art style, it has been used in advertisements and for political agendas, present in districts such as Sham Shui Po.

Notable Artists[edit]

For further exploration see, Category: Hong Kong artists.

  • Derry Ainsworth
  • Simon Birch
  • Lee Ka-Sing
  • Paul Chan
  • Lai Cheuk Wah Sarah
  • Chow Chun-fai
  • Linda Lai Chui-han
  • Danny Young
  • Amy Wan Man Cheung
  • David Elliot
  • William Furniss
  • May Sum
  • Wong Wai-yin
  • Desmond Kum Chi-keung
  • Adrian Wong
  • Stanley Wong
  • Magdalen Wong
  • Tsang Kin-Wah
  • Lui Shou Kwan
  • Zhang Yi
  • Wen Lou
  • Han Zhixun

Gallery[edit]

Reference List[edit]


This article "Art in Hong Kong" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Art in Hong Kong. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

  1. Jonathan., Porter, (2000). Macau, the imaginary city : culture and society, 1557 to the present. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0813337496. OCLC 42429358. Search this book on
  2. "Hong Kong ceded to the British". HISTORY. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
  3. "Hong Kong Population (2018) - Worldometers". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
  4. Man, Eva Kit Wah (2015), "Experimental Painting and Painting Theories in Colonial Hong Kong (1940–1980): Reflections on Cultural Identity", Chinese Contemporary Art Series, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 47–55, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-46510-3_7, ISBN 9783662465097, retrieved 2018-10-16
  5. Man, Eva Kit Wah (2015), "Experimental Painting and Painting Theories in Colonial Hong Kong (1940–1980): Reflections on Cultural Identity", Chinese Contemporary Art Series, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 47–55, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-46510-3_7, ISBN 9783662465097, retrieved 2018-10-16
  6. 1954-, Clarke, David J. (David James), (2001). Hong Kong art : culture and decolonization. London: Reaktion. ISBN 1861891121. OCLC 47675731. Search this book on
  7. 7.0 7.1 1954-, Clarke, David J. (David James), (2001). Hong Kong art : culture and decolonization. London: Reaktion. ISBN 1861891121. OCLC 47675731. Search this book on
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Hung, SHENG, (2017). Hong Kong ink painting : its role in the development of Chinese painting in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond (Thesis). Lingnan University.
  9. 1954-, Clarke, David J. (David James), (2001). Hong Kong art : culture and decolonization. London: Reaktion. ISBN 1861891121. OCLC 47675731. Search this book on
  10. Cartier, Carolyn (July 2008). "Hong Kong and the Production of Art in the Post/colonial City". China Information. 22 (2): 245–275. doi:10.1177/0920203x08091546. ISSN 0920-203X.
  11. Tate. "Installation art – Art Term | Tate". Tate. Retrieved 2018-10-16.