2024-06-01 29 days
I am a self-taught Hong Kong artist. I started making art in 2020, after resigning from my project management job to rethink about life. I once felt very lost until picking up the paint brush, which I often did in childhood. Instead of depicting an “object” or pursuing particular techniques, I aim more to present a vibe and share my worldview and self-searching journey. I mainly paint with acrylic. My art style transcends abstract and realism, and brings surrealism elements.
Since 2022, I have been creating “My Wonderland” series. It features a girl going on an adventure in the Wonderland, sometimes solo and sometimes with her inner child. The Wonderland is vibrant and dreamy, yet full of unknowns and sometimes difficult. It is whimsical yet echoing what happens within us and around us — our self-identify and struggles in life, the city we live in, environmental issues etc. I invite you to visit my inner world and share with you how I encounter these issues.
My first self-made stretcher bars! (and first time to do woodworks since my DT lesson back in secondary school!)
I always paint on stretched canvas but it’s difficult (and stupid) to bring them from Hong Kong to Finland by plane. So I brought a canvas roll instead. But it felt a bit different to paint on unstretched “soft canvas piece”. Thanks to Clint, another resident artist at Hub Feenix. He suggested me doing the stretcher bars here, and gave me a step-by-step workshop: cutting the bars into desired lengths, sanding the edges, combining them into a frame with drill, and stretching the canvas over the frame.
Now I can paint on a stretched canvas!
Woodwork can be fun, when having the right teacher and tools!
What a lovely sharing session with other resident artists at Hub Feenix! I talked about my art journey starting 4 years ago, what I have been through, my signature “My Wonderland” series, and the art piece I am working on now — inspired by the nature here and Finnish nature-loving lifestyle.
The resident artists at Hub Feenix come from different countries. Their expertise ranges from painting, animation, comics, improvised music, digital art to film making! I have learned a lot from them. Hub Feenix is a centre of creativity and well-being. Many of its staff and volunteers are also artists. Thanks for listening to my sharing and your comments and encouragement!
What a lovely sharing session with other resident artists at Hub Feenix! I talked about my art journey starting 4 years ago, what I have been through, my signature “My Wonderland” series, and the art piece I am working on now — inspired by the nature here and Finnish nature-loving lifestyle.
The resident artists at Hub Feenix come from different countries. Their expertise ranges from painting, animation, comics, improvised music, digital art to film making! I have learned a lot from them. Hub Feenix is a centre of creativity and well-being. Many of its staff and volunteers are also artists. Thanks for listening to my sharing and your comments and encouragement!
Photo by fellow resident artist Lisa Labracio
One of the most enjoyable things in my artist residency at Hub Feenix is the daily walk in forest and to the lake. On the way there is a piece of field with a lovely cottage. The light and colour changes everyday and at summer there are also flowers of multiple flowers around! I am so touched by the scene and it becomes the inspiration of my painting here - done on canvas over self-made stretcher bars.
Photo by fellow resident artist Lisa LaBracio
One of the most enjoyable things in my artist residency at Hub Feenix is the daily walk in forest and to the lake. On the way there is a piece of field with a lovely cottage. The light and colour changes everyday and at summer there are also flowers of multiple flowers around! I am so touched by the scene and it becomes the inspiration of my painting here - done on canvas over self-made stretcher bars.
Photo by fellow resident artist Lisa LaBracio
Time flies. I’m leaving my artist residency at Hub Feenix tomorrow! One thing that I will miss a lot is the lake! It looks different under different weathers and times of the day, but all are stunning and tranquil. These colours, sounds, winds, lines and ripples will stay in my mind forever, and turn into ingredients of my art❤️.
It’s two days since I left Hub Feenix.
I already miss it. Several debuts to me during the past month! My first time to do artist residency, to make art while travelling, to make canvas stretchers by myself, to do monotype printing, to do traditional Finnish sauna, to see midnight sun, to have vegetarian diet for whole month, and to have overseas collector for my art! So touched to know my art speaks to someone on the other side of the earth.
At Hub Feenix, artists are free to decide how to use the time. I didn’t make any presumptions but opened up myself. End up I completed one painting and started the 2nd piece. It’s a new series inspired not only by the nature but also my reflections on Finnish life style and human activities.
Thanks to the amazing staff of Hub Feenix who made this residency successful and fruitful! Also thanks to my fellow resident artists for sharing this wonderful memory with me.
