true value
Artbridger art residency
art residency at Soho House Hong Kong
This works were conceptualized during my participation in the Artbridger Art Residency at Soho House Hong Kong, where I reflected on The True Value of Art—what gives art its weight, its permanence, or its ephemerality in a world of constant change?
The large works explore how memories, like trees, grow roots—some strong and unshakable, others fragile and fleeting. Trees are an essential part of Hong Kong’s landscape, winding through the city like the histories and identities that shape us. Our memories do the same, intertwining with places and moments, creating an identity that is both deeply personal and part of something larger.
It intertwines themes of memory, transformation, and the way history embeds itself in the present. The fragmented, pixelated figure draws from my research on Lichtenstein’s approach to capturing moments from a digitized world, while the raw, expressive distortions nod to Bacon’s grotesque intensity. De Kooning’s influence is present in the way forms dissolve and reassemble, creating a sense of instability—much like the transient nature of identity and art itself.
Walking through the streets of Sheung Wan, where I had my first apartments in Hong Kong and where I fell in love, the air is thick with the aroma of dried seafood. To some, it might be overwhelming, but to me, it’s the scent of home, of love, of memories deeply rooted in this city. Scents don’t just trigger nostalgia; they anchor us to places, moments, and identities.
In this works, dried fish and squid become more than just subjects—they are vessels of memory, preserving time like artifacts of the past. As I sketch these humble forms, I celebrate the legacy of Hong Kong’s seafood shops and the core memories that come rushing back with their unmistakable scent.
Art has the unique power to preserve these moments, to hold onto cultural history in a way that is both tangible and emotional. It captures not just what we see, but what we feel—the atmosphere of a place, the weight of a memory, the essence of a disappearing tradition. In a rapidly evolving city like Hong Kong, where old and new constantly collide, art becomes a way to hold onto what might otherwise be lost.
This works reflect on how we hold onto memories, what we choose to forget, and how the act of remembering shapes who we are. It is also a reminder that art, like memory, is valuable not because it simply records history, but because it keeps it alive.
