[SALVATION FROM SELF IMPOSED DILEMMA]

Latest mural in collaboration with @hkwalls as one of the exhibiting murals in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. Initial concept was to do something related to the area and its residents, and later turned into a more personal approach reflecting my perspective on social issues in present society. Since I believe the audience deserves more than a simple wall decoration and murals often are the most efficient to convey messages. 

The mural concept based on my question regarding freedom in society and as a creative how I’m helplessly forced into participating in social standards that I find is unrelated to my creative practice. The initial concept derived from my discomfort with social media and how helplessly dependent I am with it. Creative are so dependent on it as if it represents their true potential. We are judging the quality of artists based on the number of followers on social media, misguided and misled into believing the figures represent the artist as a whole. Yet we are helplessly being driven into running all these social media platforms in order for us  to survive in the current society, and soon forgetting our initial intention when we first entered the industry. Though it was good intention at first but now has become so twisted and we are no longer making artwork with a pure heart and every action seems calculated. 

The hands in the mural symbolises myself as the protagonist, while flowers symbolise the fragility of me as a human being. The hands are reaching out to the head of the tiger that symbolises my personal ego, which I am struggling to restrain and tame, echoing my helplessness and struggles between this self imposed integrity as an artist and the current standard of society. . Fish represents my creative freedom, starting as the biggest fish on the far right, and gradually shrinking into the smallest between the hands, symbolising this self imposed restriction of my personal freedom. 

Everything standard, struggle, they are all self imposed. This is a dilemma I am living in.

Second latest mural located at an office space. The original theme was ‘unicorn’, however the client would want to have my twist of the creature. The overall look and feel of the creatures took inspiration from the lion paintings by Katsushika Hokusai, often known simply as Hokusai, a legendary japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. I have always been a huge admirer of his work. The perfect balance between power and gentleness. Often the creatures I create are detail- oriented, this mural provided a great opportunity for me to experiment on minimising details while still maintaining overall aesthetic. I kind of treated this project as my tribute to the Japanese master artist. The journey of learning and experimenting has been fruitful. I am still shaping my visual language and my mind is constantly evolving after seeing all the wonderful artworks created by amazing artists around the world. The world of art is vast and limitless. 

In this mural, I am trying to capture “BALANCE”. I am fascinated by the idea of balance, and how we are constantly struggling to deal with our work, our lives, our relationship and many more. How to maintain that inner balance and make peace with ourselves. Accepting who we are, what we did and where we go and what we have become. 

I consider myself as a rather rebellious person. I am constantly trying to present things my way, while absorbing elements from other artists, whether experienced or not. There will always be something out there for me to learn and evolve. There are moments in life where we need to compromise and how we can stay on our chosen path requires determination, discipline and resilience. To those who are determined, disciplined and resilient, this is how I show respect to you all. 

Staying humble is something I am constantly reminding myself of. I’m starting to do things which I used to love again, just a little better everyday. I’m starting to like myself again. That’s the goal.

Project SSP_PPL, stands for “Shum Shui Po People”, a district design project organized by Hong Kong Design Centre, reimagines Sham Shui Po as the living room for the city through the design installations in 4 public spaces and 10 designer furniture co- created with local shops. 

Curated by the ultra talented (and a good friend) Michael Leung @michael_lcp from @studioaa_co, with the creative team consists of the lovely @eil_een and creative residence @wontonmeen_ owner @pacific_highway. I was tasked to complete a 20- metre- long mural with the young people from community organisation Hope of the City. Through the use of this mural, we aim to explore the habit of many local businesses in Shum Shui Po take on shop cats to help manage their customer relationships, while these furry store managers all have their own personalities, communities and life stories.

The mural was completed within the duration of two weeks. I was first approached by Michael and Eileen back in the early 2020 before COVID19 had a major impact on the globe and through their hard work and persistence, the project finally came to fruition. Thank you for having me as one of the contributing artists, working with some good old friends and ultra talented artists in town such as @katolone, @rexkoo, @pakpuichung and many more has been a pleasure. 

Even though the mural will not be in permanent display, I had a great time. Thank you 🙂

I was invited to participate in a K11 x Disney Make a wish campaign to customise a Micky mouse figurine.

The concept derived from my fascination of Chinese ceramics. Fascinated by the hand painted prints on the ceramic, its rawness and imperfection echos the idea of “Imperfected perfection”, contradicted yet representing the truth behind life, imperfection exists within perfection, imperfect lives don’t necessarily mean tragedies, it’s all about our perspectives and it’s up to us to decide our future.

I was invited to take part to paint two pillars at Kellett School Hong Kong, a British international school in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong. The project brief was fairly simple, taking inspiration from the works of students (they were doing pattern making) and translating them into a mural design in my way. The main objective was the final product to have a strong resemblance from the source material, and no scary and over complicated creatures this time.  I have previously worked with them in a primary school workshop about creating murals and large scale artwork. The school campus at Kellett is insane, the school is fully equipped with different kinds of facilities to help students to explore the realm of art and design.

The main concept of the mural is to explore the idea and definition of ULTIMATE. This mural can be considered as the second part of a rejected idea for a mural I previously designed. The previous idea was to explore the idea of the beginning of an action. A significant moment between calmness and action. The borderline and transition of a movement. For this mural, I took the idea of the rejected mural and further developed it, while not repeating the same idea, I turned this mural into a continuation of the previous idea. 

The mural depicts the moment AFTER the motion begins. The sword has been drawn, the attack of the tiger has begun. This mural is a visual depiction of power, the storm after the calmness. The mural serves as the second part of the rejected concept, it’s about the sheer power of will and determination, which echoes the idea of “Ultimate”. The power hidden beneath one’s mind waiting to be unleashed, while often being neglected, is the one of the ultimate driving forces within the universe, one’s potentials and possibilities are incalculable. It’s about how hard you push and grind, “ultimate” is not something to be achieved, it’s a demonstration of discipline and determination. 

While exploring the possibilities of having multiple murals to convey an idea, this is also the first mural to be done in double layers, the tiger and the samurai were done separately and overlapping each other. Painting the mural in overlapping double layers creates a sense of depth, which cannot be seen in regular single layered murals, and the essence of this mural is the overlapping of two separate murals to form a complete story, which differs from conventional murals. Thanks @kyukyokudo and @amigochanho88 for their trust, this is one of the few projects, which I got to decide everything on my own and really explore new ideas and techniques.

Last year I was commissioned a project by TOWNPLACE SOHO to paint three separate murals for their newly established service apartment located in Central, Hong Kong. The murals aim to present its neighbourhood, while also presenting a different side of Hong Kong. Instead of using traditional local icons and elements, I decided to base my murals on the nearby Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden. Very often mural projects in Hong Kong focus a lot on traditional presentation of Hong Kong culture such as Star Ferry, neon signs and historical landmarks, which in my opinion has been heavily exploited. In order to bring a breath of fresh air into a rather conservative perception of the existing representation of Hong Kong and inspire the next generation of its residents, I decided to explore an alternative way to represent Hong Kong. Hong Kong is known to be a concrete jungle, while many have neglected the importance and beauty of the greenery surrounding the city. My murals are dedicated to the importance of nature and wildlife in the city and present a different side of Hong Kong, which is equally as attractive as its well known icons and landmarks.

Three murals were painted on site and three animals were selected as the core of the mural. Each presents a specific idea of how nature echoes the interior and usage of the space. 

The Flamingo: Gateway 

One of the signature animals from Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden. The mural is located at the stairway from the ground floor to the first floor. The mural aims to bring its audience into the jungle, surrounded by these amazing creatures and admiring 

their gracefulness. A gentle introduction before entering the first floor area to see more amazing artwork by fellow artist Parents Parents. At the same time it also acts as a gateway when exiting the building, before you exit the creative jungle entering the real world.

Last year I was commissioned a project by TOWNPLACE SOHO to paint three separate murals for their newly established service apartment located in Central, Hong Kong. The murals aim to present its neighbourhood, while also presenting a different side of Hong Kong. Instead of using traditional local icons and elements, I decided to base my murals on the nearby Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden. Very often mural projects in Hong Kong focus a lot on traditional presentation of Hong Kong culture such as Star Ferry, neon signs and historical landmarks, which in my opinion has been heavily exploited. In order to bring a breath of fresh air into a rather conservative perception of the existing representation of Hong Kong and inspire the next generation of its residents, I decided to explore an alternative way to represent Hong Kong. Hong Kong is known to be a concrete jungle, while many have neglected the importance and beauty of the greenery surrounding the city. My murals are dedicated to the importance of nature and wildlife in the city and present a different side of Hong Kong, which is equally as attractive as its well known icons and landmarks.

The Leopard: Determination

One of the signature animals from Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden. Siu Fa was a female leopard once lived in the Garden and subsequently passed away on 10th June 2008 due to old age. This mural is located outside the gym area, and aims to deliver the sense of speed and determination of a leopard while hunting, echoes the very same spirit of an athlete, creating positive simulation during the training inside the gym.

Last year I was commissioned a project by TOWNPLACE SOHO to paint three separate murals for their newly established service apartment located in Central, Hong Kong. The murals aim to present its neighbourhood, while also presenting a different side of Hong Kong. Instead of using traditional local icons and elements, I decided to base my murals on the nearby Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden. Very often mural projects in Hong Kong focus a lot on traditional presentation of Hong Kong culture such as Star Ferry, neon signs and historical landmarks, which in my opinion has been heavily exploited. In order to bring a breath of fresh air into a rather conservative perception of the existing representation of Hong Kong and inspire the next generation of its residents, I decided to explore an alternative way to represent Hong Kong. Hong Kong is known to be a concrete jungle, while many have neglected the importance and beauty of the greenery surrounding the city. My murals are dedicated to the importance of nature and wildlife in the city and present a different side of Hong Kong, which is equally as attractive as its well known icons and landmarks.

Three murals were painted on site and three animals were selected as the core of the mural. Each presents a specific idea of how nature echoes the interior and usage of the space. 

The Orangutan: Harmony – 

One of the signature animals from Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden, the mural aims to deliver the idea of harmony. The orangutan reaches its arm to touch the plants gently, representing how we shall pay more attention to nature and how we should all respect and live with our nature in harmony. 

Second mural created for DBS bank office in central, Hong Kong. A different approach from the previous one THE FOX. This mural is designed to create a contrast when comparing with THE FOX, more blank space, less compact. It’s designed to give a sense of distance and space. In order to bring differentiations to the series of murals (me being one of the many artists invited to carry out this project)  in the office space, this mural is deliberately done in a rather minimal fashion when compared with my usual murals. Another experimentation to play around with subject and space. Exploring how effective blank space stimulates one’s imagination and senses. The mural acts as a stimulant to encourage the audience to fill up the rest of the blank space on their own with their own stories.