[WASHI HOUSE -] – I met Hiro san @hiroyoshikawa_art from @washihouse at a friend’s studio earlier this year, and we discussed the possibility of having a collaboration and maybe starting with a mural at their studio/shop Washi House in Sai Ying Pun. Hiro san proceeded to explain the story behind his premium denim brand- inspired by the washi material on the SHOJI (Japanese sliding door) in his home and decided to use washi to create a new kind of yarn – known as the NO.6 WASHI paper yarn, which took him 7 years to develop before it was ready to weave into selvedge denim fabric and another 14 years to perfect the jeans development. ⁣
⁣
Denim fabric made from washi paper, provides qualities that far exceeds normal denim fabric. It has great UV protection, temperature control , anti- bacterial, quick drying and also great memory of shape. Each pair of jeans were created with dedication, obsession with details, transcending them into a new form of art with awareness of sustainability, while honoring its heritage in modern ways. ⁣
The whole collection is divided into two series: SHIZEN – the classic denim line, and RIKISAKU – the limited premium retro wash line. 6 pairs under each line, each with its unique concept and story. ⁣
⁣
For this mural we focus on the RIKISAKU line, 6 unique stories behind each pair of jeans. I was permissioned to create my version of the story with my mural. The 7th Story, titled “THE MOMENT”.⁣

RIKISAKU consists of 6 stories: ⁣
HANAGOROMO WASH 花衣⁣
AWAYUKI WASH 淡雪⁣
TSUKUYO WASH 月夜⁣
SEIRAN WASH 青嵐⁣
IZAYOI WASH 十六夜⁣
AKATSUKI WASH 曉⁣
⁣
Having read the story behind each design, I decided to connect them into one story. “The Moment” is the title of the mural, since each existing story describes a specific moment in nature, I aim to depict a specific moment I found personally connected. The moment when two lovers meet, the insecurity and excitement before any physical contact are made, the sacred moment of first touch which will be eternally remembered. No matter how fierce we are on the outside, we will always be softer and more vulnerable in the face of love, which later creates a bond stronger and more gentle than any existing connection. The key part of the mural is the empty space between the two tigers, that’s the precise moment when the story takes place. Using both sides of the mural to highlight the emptiness in the middle, the silent tension, something noticeable but probably taken lightly, and precisely the essence of the concept. The silent tension, the seemingly insignificant moment turns out to be the most beautiful, memorable and significant. ⁣
⁣
Painted with two different shades of blue- echoing the brand’s colour, to create the overlapping effect. The dreamy, yet sophisticated composition echoes the mood of the first physical encounter of a relationship. Roughly measured 2000m (H) x 12,000m (W), painted over the course of 7 days.

[TOGE.BY.JYUNGIN – PART 2]⁣
Latest mural project with an Okkaido themed izakaya in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. The project consists of two murals. One at the entrance of the restaurant while the other is located within the main sitting area. Since the restaurant has an Okkaido origin, instead of depicting a typical Japanese theme mural, I decided to investigate further into the heritage of Hokkaido, and paid more attention to its indigenous locals and their cultures. ⁣
⁣
“The Guardians” is the main mural of this project, depicting a bear, a wolf, yellow pheasant’s eye and a snowy mountain landscape. Each of the elements play a significant role in the Ainu culture. Ainu has a religious belief that the Gods rest in everything, both living and non living things. Bear and wolf were two of the most sacred animals in the Ainu religion. In Ainu culture there is little reference to flowers, as the fact that few flowers were of economic importance or utility. However the brilliant golden flower of pheasant eye is an exception and it’s given prominent mention in Yukar, or folk tale. The mural aims to depict the importance of cherishing and protecting local cultures and heritage, and respecting its history and local wisdoms.⁣

[TOGE.BY.JYUNGIN]⁣
Latest mural project with an Okkaido themed izakaya in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. The project consists of two murals. One at the entrance of the restaurant while the other is located within the main sitting area. Since the restaurant has an Okkaido origin, instead of depicting a typical Japanese theme mural, I decided to investigate further into the heritage of Hokkaido, and paid more attention to its indigenous locals and their cultures. ⁣
⁣
“Prologue” – The first mural located at the entrance of the restaurant. Serves as an introduction, depicting a wolf and a bear walking in a windy snowscape. Symbolizes the beginning of the journey to the unknown. Line work is heavily implemented to give a sense of motion and the harsh condition of the environment. Symbolizes how the indigenous people live in harmony with nature even under the harsh environmental conditions.

[GASSAN] – Second latest project wrapped three weeks ago for a Japanese Omakase restaurant in Central, Hong Kong. Gassan, a newly opened Omakase restaurant, uses the same name as the highest of the Three Mountains of Dewa in the ancient province of Dewa. Instead of creating a mural which reflects stereotypical elements of Japan, I think it would be more interesting and unique to explore the natural side and the traditional side of Gassan, providing a more sophisticated context which allows the audience to explore further, rather than another mural with stereotypical depiction of Japanese symbols. The mural depicts three major elements: the dragon, the flowers and the tree, each representing an element of Gassan. Dragon represents the Gassan Shrine, which is located at the top of the mountain, where worshippers have been visiting the place of mountain worship since ancient times. The tree represents the natural side of the mountain, Midagahara Marsh, a plateau at an altitude of 1,400 meters with more than 130 species of flowers. In my mural, the dragon morphs into the tree, symbolizing how the traditional shrine exists with its natural environments in harmony, while flowers symbolize the fragility and purity of humanity and its creation (The shrine) in ancient times. ⁣
⁣
The mural is measured to be 2100mm x 4000mm. Painted with alcohol based ink. Thanks everyone in the team for their trust and allowing me to actualise my vision without much compromises. The process of making this mural was pretty spontaneous, a lot of improvisations which didn’t happen at the drafting stage. I suppose we all had a few moments of heart attack, but yea we made it.

“It’s about being a warrior. It doesn’t matter about the cause necessarily. This is your path and you will pursue it with excellence. You face your fear because your goal demands it. That is the goddamn warrior spirit.” ⁣
⁣
“I was 100% certain that I would not fall off, and that certainty is what kept me from falling off.”⁣
⁣
“There is this quiet tension in climbing, something very mellow, relaxed and meditative.”⁣
⁣
Every decision you make has a consequence, good or bad. Making the right judgement is crucial but so is failing. You will bleed and you will get hurt, but this is part of the process of being a better person. There are moments in life that you will fail terribly, and you just pick yourself up and keep trying. The pursuit of excellence has never been an easy task. Ground yourself like a tree, resilient, calm and unwavering. ⁣
⁣
About a month ago, I was approached by @matchchen, a friend and a climber who was looking for something to be done on the wooden hoarding outside their climbing gym @project_climbandboulderhk, which has been empty for almost a year since they first opened. My job was to look into the world of climbing and bouldering and deliver my personal perspective on the sport. Thanks to their trust that I got to deliver something truly personal. Thank you for saving me and reminding me of what I do and why I do it. Journey continues.⁣

[THE PHONE BOOTH] – Extra part of the Unicorn project finished a while ago. My task was to decorate the phone booth with artwork so it will blend into the office space decorated with artwork created by fellow local artists. The brief was rather open and I had the freedom to draw basically whatever I want. Rather than having something usual we decided to have something bold and less common in an office space, and I ended up drawing a skull, which in fact is the first art piece you see before entering the office (excluding the amazing sign painting by @katolone and @chanoiying on the front door). ⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Since the owner of the company is also a fan of Japanese manga, I took this as an opportunity to tribute to one of my favourites. The concept behind the artwork is “Lessons without pain are meaningless”. One of the themes of the famous manga series “Fullmetal Alchemist”. I took my own spin of the idea and designed the artwork. We will never learn unless we have tasted pain and pain has always taught us the greatest lesson. How we endure the pain while keeping ourselves moving forward is an eternal lesson we are all going through. ⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
We struggle, fall, then get back up and move forward. It’s an eternal cycle of pain, yet the greatest lesson of life. I am nothing but another humble student hoping to become a better artist, and a better human being. Through art, I am trying my best to face my fear and rediscover myself. ⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
P.s. commission projects can also be personal.⁣⁣⁣

[TWO AS ONE] – Everything is about love and we are bonded by different forms of love. Love for yourself, your family, your friends, your partner and the world. Everything is connected and it’s a way to make you a better person, incubate and grow endless possibilities. ⁣
⁣
This mural is again done with two separate layers: THE HANDS and THE SOLITUDE. Two murals overlapping each other to provide a visual representation of my perception of relationships. Two hands holding each other symbolises the union of two individuals and how one triggers growth of the golden flower, symbolises possibilities and hope. Snow leopards are one of the loneliest and most isolated creatures in the wild world, here it symbolises one’s solitude and how a positive relationship can soothe and comfort one’s emotions and soul. The mural can be viewed as two separate pieces, yet when viewed as one, the hands will appear as if it’s gently lifting the head of the snow leopard, giving it support and comfort, connecting both. Everything is connected and two as one, echoing the core message of “TWO AS ONE”.⁣
⁣
Recently I have been exploring different ways to present my story and my personal feelings through my work. I suppose I have always been someone who presents myself better with my work rather than words. “TWO AS ONE” is my latest experimentation. While working on smaller murals, it’s important to pay more attention to the composition and the context, since the size is much smaller and it’s important to find a way to create the same amount of impact of a bigger mural. Context has always been my main focus when creating work and it shall never be compromised.⁣

[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 🙂