Hello !

洪    強    H U N G   K e u n g

New & Digital Media Artist / Scholar / Researcher / Media Art Specialist / Professor, Department of Cultural and Creative Arts, The Education University of Hong Kong / Director and Founder of innov + media lab (imhklab) / MA @ Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (UK) / Research @ ZKM (Germany) / PhD @ The Planetary Collegium, Zurich University of the Arts (Switzerland) & University of Plymouth (UK), supervised by Prof. Dr. Jill Scott and Prof. Dr. Thea Brejzek.  

Dr. HUNG’s innovative practice involves working and researching across a range of media, including interactive performance, moving images, photography, experimental ink painting, installation and writing, etc. Alongside his individual practice and research he also leads a research lab ‘ imhk lab’ focus on new media art and design practice in research relation to Chinese philosophy and interactivity, which began in 2005. 

Dr. HUNG’s digital media artist successfully demonstrating how Chinese conceptual philosophy integrated with digital media technology. Providing a novel way of defining the relation between traditional Chinese art theory and contemporary art practice. HUNG Keung’s art works address themes relating to history, and the effects of modernisation, urbanisation and globalisation on their respective societies and cultures, as well as internationally.

洪 強 博士 早年先後於香港，英國，德國及瑞士研修藝術。亦曾短期任教藝術於丹麥及於美國, 澳洲及加拿大駐留及從事與新媒體藝術相關研究項目 。洪氏先後畢業於香港理工太古設計學院、香港中文大學藝術系、英國倫敦中央聖馬丁藝術及設計研究院 (主修: 錄像及電影藝術)、瑞士蘇黎世藝術大學 暨 英國普利茅斯大學，獲頒哲學博士。曾任德國新媒體重鎮卡爾斯魯厄 (Karlsruhe) 藝術與媒體研究中心 ZKM (Center for Art and Media ) 訪問學人(01-02) 。洪 強 亦為 ‘德國學術交流獎學金’  [DAAD Scholarship] 及 ‘亞洲文化協會’ 捷成漢伉儷獎助金 [Desiree and Hans Michael Jebsen Fellowship, Asian Cultural Council (ACC)] 得主。留德其間常往德國不藝術學院講學及交流, 自1995年起，一直熱衷於實驗短片及錄像創作、新媒體藝術和中國哲學及美學方面的研究。2005年，成立「燕老米的雅實驗室」（imhk lab），從事新媒體藝術研究及有關互動軟件藝術研發與應用工作。近年作品多集中討論以宗教、自然及心境體驗、哲學、山、水、墨、時、空的概念切入當代錄像及互動藝術所呈現之可能性。香港當代藝術雙年獎: (成就獎) 得奬者 (2010)。 其近期媒體藝術及文化研究作品剛獲頒: 香港設計師協會環球設計大獎: 優秀獎 (數碼) (2018) ; 德國國際創新博覽會: 創新作品銀獎 (2018); DFA亞洲最具影響力設計獎 : 優異獎 (2020); 藝術家年獎 (媒體藝術): 第十五屆香港藝術發展獎: 香港藝術發展局 (2021); 金獎: 日內瓦國際發明展, 瑞士 (2021) 及 第十一屆IIIC國際創新發明競賽, 台灣: 金獎 (2020). 

Dr. HUNG studied in the Swire School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Chinese University of Hong Kong and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, United Kingdom with a MA in Film and Video; visiting scholar at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM), Karlsruhe, Germany. HUNG Keung is currently Professor of The Education University of Hong Kong and completed his Ph.D (Digital media art & Chinese philosophy) of the Planetary Collegium, Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich, Switzerland & University of Plymouth, United Kingdom. In 2005, HUNG Keung founded innov+media lab (imhk lab), focuses on new media art and design research in relation to Chinese philosophy and interactivity, making bridges between people regardless of their nationality and capability through his series innovative & interactive Chinese characters workshops with media art technology.

洪 強 博士 早年先後於香港，英國，德國及瑞士研修藝術。亦為 ‘德國學術交流獎學金’ DAAD 及 ‘亞洲文化協會’ 捷成漢伉儷獎助金 ACC得主。留德其間, 曾任教藝術於丹麥藝術及設計學院, 常往德國及美國不藝術學院講學及交流。洪先後畢業於香港理工設計學院、香港中文大學藝術系、英國倫敦中央聖馬丁藝術及設計研究院 (主修: 錄像及電影藝術)、瑞士蘇黎世藝術大學，獲頒哲學博士。曾任德國新媒體重鎮藝術與媒體研究中心 ZKM問學人, 亦獲邀往澳洲, 美國及加拿大駐留及從事與新媒體藝術相關研究項目 。洪自1995年起，一直熱衷於實驗短片及錄像創作、新媒體藝術和中國哲學及美學方面的研究。 2005年，成立「燕老米的雅實驗室」（imhk lab），從事新媒體藝術研究及有關互動軟件藝術研發與應用工作。近年作品多集中討論以宗教、自然及心境體驗、哲學、山、水、墨、時、空的概念切入當代錄像及互動藝術所呈現之可能性。

CV @ HK Asia Society

Hung Keung (b.1970, Kunming, China) is a new and digital media artist and scholar. His innovative practice encompasses interactive performance, installation art, experimental ink painting, photography, moving images and writing. Intrigued by the interconnectedness of time and space, as well as between the viewer and the work itself, his latest works incorporate moving digital images to explore human limitations and attempt to extend them using technology. Hung Keung’s solo exhibitions have been held at Art Basel Hong Kong (2013); Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, U.K. (2012); Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon (2011); among others. He has also exhibited in various group exhibitions globally including: ITÄ-AASIAN VIDEOIKKUNA/East Asian Video Frames-Shades of Urbanization, Pori Art Museum, Finland (2016); INK REMIX: Contemporary Art from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong at Canberra Museum and Gallery, Australia (2015); and Conforming to Vicinity—A Cross-Strait Four-Region Artistic Exchange Project in Macau, Taiwan, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (2014-2015). Hung’s videos and interactive art have received the Prize of Excellence at the Hong Kong Arts Biennial in 2001 and the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Achievement Award in 2009. Alongside his individual practice and research, he leads “imhk lab”— a research lab he founded in 2005 that focuses on new media art and design research in relation to Chinese philosophy and interactivity. Hung is also an Associate Professor at the Education University.

CV @ Asia Cultural Council

Hung Keung, one of Hong Kong’s most innovative pioneers in the field of new media art, is Assistant Professor at the school of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Born in Yunnan province in 1970 to Indonesian-Chinese parents, Hung began his artistic career in middle school as a comic strip artist before taking up design studies at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 1995 he obtained a B.A. degree in the Department of Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he was named “Most Promising Artist” and in 1996 completed a M.A. degree in film and video at the Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in the U.K. He received his Ph.D. at The Planetary Collegium, Zurich University of Arts, Switzerland, and the University of Plymouth, U.K.

Hung is the recipient of many local and international awards. In 1998 he became the first Chinese video artist to win the prestigious BBC Short Film Festival’s “Award for Best Short Ambient Video” as well as the “Best of the EMAF Award” in the European Media Art Festival for his film, I Love My Country’s Sky. In 2001, his CD-ROM project “Human Beings and Moving Images” and interactive project “Dao Gives Birth to One” received numerous awards including “The Prize of Excellence” at the Hong Kong Art Biennale in 2001, as well as recognition at the International Festival of film and New Media Art in Greece and the international Festival of New Film and Video in Croatia.

From 2001-2002 he served as visiting scholar at the Centre for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany, and was invited to be a visiting lecturer in the Department of Interactive Media in Design in Kolding, Denmark.

One of Hung’s most recent video works, Witnessing: 10 Years of Humanitarian Crises, was shown at the tenth anniversary exhibition of Médecins Sans Frontières. In 2005, he established a program called “innov+medi lab” which focused on integrated design, research, software development and application. In 2013, his work Dao x Microcosmic Play and Appreciation was shown in the first edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, in  which ink dots swam around the screen and followed the movements of speculators who had come into the space of the work.

Hung is the recipient of the Désirée and Hans Michael Jebsen Fellowship in 2005, which supported his first trip to the United States. The Asian Cultural Council arranged for him to travel around the country, visit museums, universities, and art schools and take part in a residency program at the Center for New Media of the University of California at Berkeley.

CV @ The Art Department of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, USA

Hung Keung, Visiting Artist from Hong Kong

Dr. Hung Keung is an internationally renowned digital media artist, researcher, and scholar who has been involved in the creative and research aspects of film, video and digital new media art since 1995. Dr. Hung’s art installations successfully Integrate Chinese conceptual philosophy with digital technology, providing a novel way of defining the relation between traditional Chinese art theory and contemporary art practice. Hung Keung’s art works address themes relating to history, and the effects of modernization, urbanization and globalization on domestic society and culture, as well as internationally. His works create a dynamic dialogue between time and space, viewers, and the artist’s experimentation with new media.

Hung Keung has won several prestigious international awards, from Computer Graphics International 2001, the International New Media Arts Festival in Greece, and for New Media in Croatia. In addition, four of his video works were selected to take part in the BBC Short Film Festival. He received the Gold Award in the Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards, the Prize of Excellent at the Hong Kong Art Biennial in 2001, and the Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial in 2009-10.

Hung Keung was born in Kunming, Yunnan Province in China, but moved to Hong Kong with his family at the age of three. He studied in the Swire School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London, England where he received his M.A. in Film and Video. He was a visiting scholar at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM), Karlsruhe, Germany in 2001-2002. He completed his Ph.D. in Digital Media Art and Chinese Philosophy at the Planetary Collegium of Zurich University of the Arts in Switzerland, and the University of Plymouth, United Kingdom.

For his Visiting Artist residency at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, from October 24th to 27th, Hung Keung’s featured work is Dao Gives Birth to One. This is a project that the artist has been working on since 2009, and has created several different versions, and recently merged it with another artwork. Based on an excerpt from the 6th century BCE text of the Dao Dejing, the line “Dao Gives Birth to One” is symbolized by 3D flying Chinese characters that replicate and multiply while attaching themselves onto the projected images of human participants. The original format of the artwork Dao Gives Birth to One, is 12 video screens, each looped at a different time interval and speed to symbolize the unlimited choices that a viewer has when perusing a Chinese handscroll painting. Compared to a traditional European style oil painting, which mimics a window-like space, the handscroll is unrolled and re-rolled, so that the viewer can view each segment at his/her own leisure, following the pathways up and down, around and through the hills of a landscape.

Four screens from Dao Gives Birth to One will be installed via the 3rd Floor windows of the Mo’okini Library, and visible from the Library lanai.

Funding from the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation in collaboration with the Mookini Library and the Art Department of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

Short CV in Chinese @ 2019

香港新媒體藝術領域最具創新精神的先驅之一的新媒體藝術家及學者。 2005年，成立imhk lab ，一直從事新媒體藝術和中國哲學及美學方面的研究及有關互動軟件藝術研發與應用工作, 熱衷於實驗短片及錄像創作, 近年作品多集中討論以中國文化, 宗教、自然及心境體驗、哲學、山、水、墨、時、空的概念配合錄像及互動藝術所呈現之可能性。現為香港教育大學文化與創意藝術學系副教授 及碩士班課程統籌主任。近年主力專注研究傳統中國文化, 漢字, 與太極拳之間的共容家庭學習關係及可能性。近年作品有法國燈光節: 香港文武廟燈光互動表演(2017) 。先後畢業於香港理工太古設計學院、香港中文大學藝術系、英國倫敦中央聖馬丁藝術及設計研究院碩士(主修: 錄像及電影藝術)、瑞士蘇黎世藝術大學。曾任德國 ZKM 藝術與媒體研究中心訪問學人。洪博士亦為 ‘德國學術交流獎學金’ [DAAD ] 及 ‘亞洲文化協會’ (ACC) 得主。其文化研究作品剛獲頒: 香港設計師協會環球設計大獎2018: 優秀獎 及 德國國際創新博覽會: 創新作品銀獎。

HUNG Keung & Buddhas Art 2020

洪強的博士論文專注於傳統中國藝術理論及新媒體藝術創作及古典中國哲學關係。洪強最具代表性的互動多媒體作品攝取了佛教對於時空與身份的觀念。他在造訪釋迦摩尼覺醒之地菩提迦耶時，被古代的佛雕深深打動，隨即用指尖沾墨，在筆記本上迅速摹拓下佛像肉體般的生命感。在釋迦摩尼覺醒之地菩提迦耶對古代塑像的深刻體驗，促使他在筆記本上以墨指迅速摹拓這種直接無礙的方式，記錄下佛像肉體般的生命感。在後來愈發投入的禮佛途中，他延繼續了這一獨特的創作方式。洪強近年作品多集中討論以宗教、自然及心境體驗、哲學、山、水、墨、時、空的概念切入當代錄像及互動藝術所呈現之可能性。他的作品如〈道生一〉，以老子「道生一」意念去演譯眾生和宇宙既恆常，又變幻的規律，並以書法筆劃美學重構，大小聚散無定。觀眾更可以姿勢動作與數碼影象互動創作。〈四時系列〉以字體、花卉生態與時空互動，四時生息、物象變化，探究生命與自然的奧秘，也蘊含中國水墨和花卉畫的意趣和美學精神。
洪強的作品被香港藝術館及其他重要機構收藏。

HUNG Keung’s doctoral thesis focuses on the relationship between traditional Chinese art theory, new media art creation, and classical Chinese philosophy. HUNG’s most representative interactive multimedia works ingested Buddhism’s concept of time and space and identity. When he visited Bodhgaya, India, the awakening place of Shakyamuni, he was deeply moved by the ancient Buddha carvings, and then he used his fingertips to ink, and quickly spread the Buddha’s physical life in his notebook. The profound experience of Bodhgaya in the awakening place of Sakyamuni to the ancient statue prompted him to quickly explore the direct and unobtrusive way of using the ink finger in his notebook to record the Buddha’s physical life. In the ensuing ritual Buddha, he continues this unique way of creation as daily activities as mediation practice. In recent years, Hung concentrates in synthesizing religion, nature and the inner mind of humankind, and emulates the interactivity and capability of philosophies, landscapes, time and space in contemporary and new media art. His work Dao Gives Birth to One originates from the philosophy “One (the origin) comes from Dao (The Great Way of Universe)” in which he transforms, decompose and recompose Chinese characters and calligraphic strokes, sometimes gathering, sometimes disperse, sometimes large and sometimes small, to emulate the eternal and ever-changing state of nature and the universe. Viewers could also engage in this digital creation by his posing and gestures to modulate the visuals. Four Seasons series in the present exhibition illustrate his alternative transformation the configurations of flowers in different time and space in the four seasons, explores the mystic state of life in nature with a touch of the aesthetic of Chinese ink art and flower painting.
HUNG’s works are collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art and other important institutions.

Short CV (100 words) 

HUNG Keung studied in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Chinese University of Hong Kong and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, United Kingdom with a MA in Film and Video; visiting scholar at ZKM), Germany, and received his Ph.D (Digital media art & Chinese philosophy) of the Planetary Collegium, Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich, Switzerland & University of Plymouth, UK.  HUNG Keung founded innov+media lab, focuses on new media art and design research in relation to Chinese philosophy and interactivity, making bridges between people regardless of their nationality and capability through his series innovative & interactive Chinese characters workshops with media art technology.  (106 words)

洪 強 先後畢業於香港理工設計學院、香港中文大學藝術系、英國倫敦中央聖馬丁藝術及設計研究院 (主修: 錄像及電影藝術)、瑞士蘇黎世藝術大學，獲頒哲學博士。成立「燕老米的雅實驗室」，從事新媒體藝術研究及有關互動軟件藝術研發與應用工作。(112 words)

Short CV (300- 600 words) 

Dr. HUNG Keung is a highly acclaimed digital media artist and designer and scholar renowned for his creative and research pursuits. He is the founder of innov+media lab (imhk lab), a space dedicate to new media art and design research that explores the intersection of Chinese philosophy and interactivity. Through his innovative and interactive Chinese characters research projects, he bridges cultural and national boundaries, bringing people together regardless of their backgrounds or abilities using media art technology. His art installations combine traditional Chinese art theory with digital technology, offering a fresh perspective on the relationship between ancient philosophies and contemporary artistic practices.

HUNG’s artworks delve into themes such as history, the impact of modernization and globalization on society and culture, both locally and globally. They create a vibrant dialogue between time, space, viewers, and the artist’s exploration of new media. HUNG’s talent and contributions have been recognized through numerous prestigious international awards. His accolades include recognition at events such as Computer Graphics International 2001, the International New Media Arts Festival in Greece, and New Media in Croatia. Furthermore, four of his video works were selected to participate in the esteemed BBC Short Film Festival. Notable awards bestowed upon Dr. Hung include the Gold Award in the Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards, the Prize of Excellence at the Hong Kong Art Biennial (2001), and the Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial  (2009).

In addition to these accomplishments, Dr. Hung has also received the Excellence in Innovation Award, Gold Medal, and Best 10 Invention Designs Award at The 7th and 6th International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada (iCAN) (2021-22) as well as the Gold Medal award at The Invention Geneva Evaluation Days Special Edition (2021) in Switzerland. He was also honored with the Gold Medal award at The International Innovation and Invention Competition (IIIC) in Taiwan (2022). Currently, Dr. Hung is the recipient of the President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Knowledge Transfer at The Education University of Hong Kong (2023), further highlighting his exceptional contributions to the field. (343 words)

洪強博士是香港新媒體藝術領域最具創新精神的先驅之一的新媒體藝術家及學者。他早年在香港、英國、德國和瑞士進行了研修、設計、藝術和新媒體藝術方面的學習。洪博士先後畢業於香港理工太古設計學院、香港中文大學藝術系、英國倫敦中央聖馬丁藝術及設計研究院碩士（主修：錄像及電影藝術）和瑞士蘇黎世藝術大學。 ‘德國學術交流獎學金’ [DAAD ] 及 ‘亞洲文化協會’ (ACC)捷成漢伉儷獎助金得主，曾任德國新媒體重鎮藝術與媒體研究中心 ZKM問學人，亦獲邀往丹麥、澳洲、美國及加拿大等大學駐留、講學及從事與新媒體藝術相關研究項目 。

2005年，洪強成立了「燕老米的雅實驗室」（imhk lab），一直從事新媒體藝術和中國哲學及美學方面的研究，並致力於互動軟件藝術的研發和應用。他熱衷於實驗短片和錄像創作，近年的作品主要集中討論中國文化、宗教、自然環境、心境體驗、哲學、山水、墨、時空等概念，並以錄像和互動藝術呈現它們的可能性。

洪強博士現為香港教育大學文化與創意藝術學系副教授及碩士班課程統籌主任。近年來，他主要研究傳統中國文化、漢字和太極拳之間的共容家庭學習關係及可能性。洪強在藝術領域取得了許多成就和獎項。他是香港當代藝術雙年獎的成就獎得主（2010年）。他的近期媒體藝術和文化研究作品獲得了多個獎項，包括香港設計師協會環球設計大獎: 優秀獎（數碼）（2018年）、德國國際創新博覽會的創新作品: 銀獎（2018年）、DFA亞洲最具影響力設計獎: 優異獎（2020年）、第十五屆香港藝術發展獎: 藝術家年獎（媒體藝術）（2021年）、日內瓦國際發明展: 金獎（2021年）、第十一及十三屆IIIC國際創新發明競賽: 金獎（2020年和2022年），以及香港教育大學: 教大知識轉移表彰傑出教職員獎 (2023)。(683 words)

 

 

水墨. 文字. 藝術. 數碼. 互動. 之奇遇

Ink, Words, Arts, Digital Interaction – an amazing story

最近這幾年都集中在互動中文字的哲學探討,科技研究和藝術創作上，每次展覽都會有人詢問，何以那麼有興趣在中文字及書法上做創作研究！這傳統文化好像同數碼媒體藝術的𨶹係不太直接！這問題也引起自己對自己的興趣，想認認真真地回望一下過去，看看是否可尋找到一些傳統和數碼藝術關係.

In recent years, my focus has been in philosophical exploration, research on technology and artistic creation. Often I am asked, the reasons behind my deep interests in Chinese characters and calligraphy, as these areas seem to have little connection with digital media creation. This question also arises my own interests. So, I would like to look back on my journey of art creation, to see if I can find any hint between traditional and digital art.

童年的水墨奇遇

My Childhood Experience with Traditional Chinese Arts

其實，我大約六七歳時便接觸書法和國畫學習，個這學習經驗，對我來說，並不是從學校得來的，而是從我母親身上！還記得小時候，我應該是可歸纇為過份活躍的一群，特徵是有時可以極端地集中，但也可以過份地活躍。還記得媽媽經常提供出來的經典例子是，有一日她在小學門口等我放學，但等了很久也未見我出來，心知一定又被老師罰留堂，所以就上班房找找看，誰知一打開房門，就見到她兒子，我，在班房內的桌子上跳來跳去，令她啼笑皆非！我不知這些故事是否引發點，但我就記得，有一天媽媽拿起紙筆墨，讓我坐在她身邊，教我畫起松樹來，我好記得，她先畫一棵，然後讓我摹擬另外一棵。之後最令我印象深刻的是畫竹，令我歏為覌止。因竹愎雜多變，但媽咪卻有技巧地先介紹畫樹龫，表現樹身的整體結構和重心，然後才勾勒出竹葉，到三十多年後的今天，那教與學場景和過程我還瀝瀝在目。之後還有紅頂鶴，在松樹的兩邊，一左一右。回想那時才六七歲，面對甘大的工程真的好興奮，還記得有點進入一個奇幻世界。記得小時候，母親替我去找專雕圖章的師傅，我的名字從此就立體化了。還買了紅色泥印，一切東西都是鬧著玩著！廿年後，在中文大學內，我正正式式地了解到，史料，文字，紙張，空間和印章的關係，我也擁有了一系列自己親手雕刻出來的名字了！要知道，那個時候對我來說，這創作世界沒有分什麼東方西方媒介，總之，家裡有筆有墨有紙，就是這樣就畫起水墨畫來了！故事還是未完，原來畫畫好後，母親還親自試範如何寫一個上款和下款！然後還建議要加一個私人圖章。嘩，我記得我也靜靜地學習著，覌察著。然後慢慢地把所有過程嘗試重復幾次，之前的日子我就把所有注意力 轉移到漫畫創作，製作了很多有頭無尾的漫畫故事身上，一直到升上初中，以艇仔粥筆名以畫漫畫作為半功讀生涯了！

My first encounter with traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy was at the age of seven. I did not get these knowledges from school but from my mother. When I was young, I can be classified as an overactive child. I can either be absorbed completely or in the other way round, be extremely active.  A “classic” example my mother often mention happened like this: one day, my mother go to my primary school to pick me up, but I were nowhere to be seen. My mother guessed that as usual, I was held in detention by teachers. So, she went to my classroom. What she saw after she opened the door is a scene she cannot forget – me jumping from desk to desk at my classroom! I do not know if example like this triggered the idea for me to start learning traditional Chinese arts, but I do remember the day when she taught me traditional Chinese painting for the first time. She had me sat beside her, drew a pine tree and told me to draw as she did. The one thing that impressed me most is painting bamboos. Due to the diversity of bamboos, she skillfully introduced me to the trunk first, then the structure and the centre of gravity. At last, she sketched out the leaves to finish the painting. Even after thirty years now, the scene is still so vivid in my mind. After bamboos, there came red-crowned cranes, one at each side of a pine tree. Being a child of only six or seven, drawing this picture was a grand project for me and I was very excited. It was like entering a fantasy world for me. My mom took me to a master of stamp-craving, my name become “three-dimensional” after I got the stamp. She even got me a red mud print although the whole thing is not meant to be serious. After 20 years, in The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), I started to learn the relationship between historical materials, words, papers, space and stamp. Back then, I got a series of stamps of  my name handcrafted by myself. At that time, there is no western or eastern creative media to me. As there are traditional drawing materials and tools at home, I started to draw ink paintings. My mom surprised me again by showing me the way of writing an upper section and a lower section. She recommended that I should also put my personal stamp on it. I remember learning and observing quietly and then tried to practice everything I learnt. However, my interests shifted to comics quickly and produce a lot of unfinished comics. I used the name “艇仔粥 ” as my stage name , working and studying at the same time throughout the first few years of my secondary school.

中大的藝術氣息

The Artistic Atmosphere of CUHK

自始，我就沒有機會再接觸到水墨和書法了。直到我進入中文大學藝術系時，發現一年級的本科有書法和國畫基礎課程，感覺又慢慢地返來了！我知道畢業時一定會選擇西方媒介為創作方向，所以，在大一大二時，我決定首選所有和中國媒介有関的課程修讀，反而西方的少之又小！回想那幾年，很幸運遇上了很多影響我的好教授，無論是全職或兼職的，都比到我一份在巿區上找不到的人民氣息，和一種，和他們接觸才感受得到的文人修養和創作智慧！雖然畢業作品是走西方媒介方向，但我在創作裝置藝術作品上，嘗試加入筆的元素，過程是利用中國傳統工筆畫的技法，把我打太極的體態勾劃出來，再以絲網印曬在一系列訂製好的鏡面上。就這樣，一件結合了中國太極，工筆畫，絲綱，還有錄像的裝置的畢業作品就此完成了。作品內容和水準我其實不太滿意，感覺還有不少的問題自己還未䏻解決和處理得好！

Since then, I did not have the chance to pick up traditional Chinese ink painting and calligraphy again. It was not until I was admitted to the  Department of Fine Art of CUHK that I discovered they offered calligraphy and ink painting as basic training subjects for undergraduate students. I knew that I would most probably chose western media as the direction of creation for my graduating work, as a result, I would like to take as many subjects relating to Chinese media in the first two years of my undergraduate study.  Throughout those years, I was very lucky to meet a lot of professors who influenced me positively during my road of art creation. Both part time and full time professors possess a sense of humanity that I was not able to find outside the university. By staying beside them, I felt their self-possession and creative wisdom. Although my graduation work is in western media, but when I created my installation art, I tried to add the element of Chinese writing brush. I used the technique of 工筆畫 (Gung Bat Waa) outlined my figure of me playing Tai Chi, then use silk screen printing to print on a series of mirrors. As a result, a graduation artwork with a combination of Tai Chi, Gung Bat Waa, silk screen printing and video recording was born. Actually I am not that happy with the content and quality of the work, there were still a lot of problems for me to solve.

英國的賣藝生涯

My Life as a street artist of UK

英國之行也影響我再對水墨畫的認識和拉進了我對這傳統媒介之闋係。故事是這樣發生的。中大畢業了，之後到了英國進修短片及錄像藝術課程。由於在中大最後那一年，我對録像藝術開始有認識，也進行了幾部實驗性的作品創作，故來到英倫後，我很珍惜學校所提供的空間和器材，故此，每天也堅持回校工作。每天來回那位於四區 ( zone 4) 的宿舍和位於一區巿中心的校址，每次行程要用上兩小時呢！其實當年的我基本上是盤村未夠便很想去學多些，想多些，和做多些。因此，那次英國之行未到三個月便已把由香港帶來的生活費用光了。學費未也未能支付，還記得，學校約見了我，了解了我的情況，建議我慢慢想辦法，一天未交齊學費，我還是可以上課學習考試，只是，學校會把我的成績留住不作公佈，直到把學費付清。那太好了，很感謝呢！但事實歸事實，面對著銀行存摺已接近零的時候，什麼辦法縂要拿出來考慮。那個時候是還未有政策可訨留學生打工的日子，我嘗試去唐人街的唐飱舘找工作，之後決定，去倫敦的逰客區賣藝！在捱了兩星期都是只能以雞蛋作午餐的日子後，我的賣藝生涯就此展開。其實在那大街上，大部分藝術家都是以畫人像畫為主的。據我覌察所得，來自中國的同志們水準較高，也較受歡迎，逰客們往往也顧意等上一兩句鐘。而每次人像素描平均收費是大約十五至廿五英磅。所以，我嘗試另闢溪徑，賞試以工筆人物畫加水墨效果為遊客們繪畫人像，以每張五英磅，收入雖然不穩定，但也慶幸能開以至用，為英倫之旅添 加了不少囘憶！ 之後的日子，我族漸全力投身短片，錄像及新媒體的研究及藝術館雙年展創作上，再沒有太直接和中國書且上任何闕係了！

My trip to UK, not only enhanced my knowledge on Chinese ink painting, I was also brought closer to it again. After I graduated from CUHK, I went to UK to study on short films and video art. During my last year in CUHK, I started to know about video art and created a few experimental works. When I studied in UK, I treasured the space and equipments provided by the institution. I insisted to go to school to work every single day. It took me 2 hours every time just to get to school. Looking back into this, I now realized I did not have enough preparation on my study in UK. I wanted to learn more and work more but in reality, I simply did not have enough money to sustain my life in UK. I ran out of money in 3 months even before I paid my tuition fee. The school administration discussed with me in depth about my situation. They suggested me to explore my choices carefully. I can still study and join exams in school, but the school administration will put my academic results on hold until I paid my tuition fee. I appreciated so much on the generosity of the school. However, reality is cruel. When I saw my near-zero balance of my bank account, I knew I have work on whatever I can do. I tried my luck in restaurants in the China Town. Eventually, I decided to be a painter on tourist spots in London. After having eggs as lunch for 2 weeks, my life as a street painter started.
Most of other painters worked on portraits. To my observation, works of Chinese painters were generally better. Chinese painters were also more popular. The tourists are willing to spend an hour or two for a painting. The prices of the portraits ranged from 15 pounds to 25 pounds. I decided to try to use 工筆人物畫 (Gung Bat Jan Mat Waa) plus Chinese ink paintings skills to paint portraits of tourists. I charged for 5 pounds per painting. Although it did not bring me a steady income, I was happy to put what I have learnt into use. It also brought me great memories. Unfortunately, I have to spend time on short films, videos, new media research and also a biennial so I could not spend time on Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy.

那年的二三事

Those were the days到了2006年，那年有三件事情令我感受什深，直接啓發了我對中國書畫和數碼媒體藝術館雙年展的𨶹係。In 2006, there were a few things happened that impacted me greatly. They inspired me on the relationship between Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy digital media museum biennial.

 

2006年的春季:

我拿了亞洲文化協會 （Asian Cultural Council) 的獎學金到美國進行媒體藝術研究及交流工作。那一年，聯合國公佈了一則新聞，內容大約是中國建議統一中文字的使用準則，磪定了中國簡體字為正式的中國官方文字，所以，以後外國人學習和閱讀中文字的時候，也應是以簡體字為標準！但我感到不可能是這樣的。

Spring 2006: I was awarded a scholarship from the Asian Cultural Council for me to go to US on media art research and exchange. The United Nations released a statement suggested China organized the use of Chinese characters and confirm the Simplified Chinese characters as official language. Thus, when foreigners learn to read and write Chinese, they should be using Simplified Chinese characters. However, I do not think this will be the case.

2006的夏季:

我接受了一項邀請，目的是去上海張江高科技園作考察，和創作一件數碼藝術作品。當我去到那科技園區，看到了不少舊房子和原居民被拆遷了，換上的，是一座座高樓，裡面大多是新立的科技公司，如動漫軟件製作公司。記得有一次，負責帶隊的科技園朋友，拿住另外一位藝術家徐恆和我上了一座高樓的樓頂，我們遠眺這科技區，簡直是一望無際，一望空闊。負責人很熱情地介紹著這地區之前是如何地平民化，現在和以後是如何地發展順速，前㬌美好。我在一邊聽著他的介紹，一邊在幻想著當時的原居民是怎樣在這塊土地上生活–在未拆遷前。我內心很叉盾。一方面，我見到自己國家有這樣的氣魄和視野去創就一個理想而驕傲，但叧一方面，我又為那即拆即遷的急速變化感到一絲無奈！

Summer 2006: I was invited to visit the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park and created a digital artwork. When I was there, I saw that many old buildings were demolished and replaced by high rise buildings. Inside these buildings are mostly new technology company, like companies that produced animation softwares.  I remembered one time, the visiting team leader took another another artist 徐恆 (Xu Heng) and I to the roof top of a high rise building. We had a birds eye view of this area and it seemed vast and borderless. The person-in-charge eagerly introduced to me that this was an old residential area and how rapid it would develop. I listened to his introduction and on the other side, my mind drifted off to the way people lived here before the demolition. On one hand I was proud that my home country has the vision to develop new technology, on the other hand, I could not help but felt a sense of pity.

2006的秋季:

就此我便創作了一系列以簡體字和繁體字的互動媒體作品，目的透過兩個互動影像去令參與者親身感受一種模棱兩可的香港人身份特徵！作品是在上海外灘三號的沪申畫廊展出。一方面，我們以身位中國人為榮，另一方面，我們又似乎很不滿在中國發生的一些事情。一種愛之深，恨之切的感情油燃紙上，也正是這互動作品想帶出的情懷。之後，我那互動數碼中文字也影響到我另外的 [道生一 ] 系列 ( Dao Gives Birth to One) 的創作方向，就是想把中國哲學裡 的“道” 和宇宙萬物的關係，以數碼互動媒體去演繹一次。內容有涉及中國長卷軸畫的時空慨念，亦有賞試探討畫紙空間的留白和數碼虛擬空間上的白色慨念相互關係，成績可能未必完全美滿，但凡此種種，令我這代在數碼世界的新(又是舊)人纇， 在努力地迎接未來時，也重新審視自己的文化及成長過程，是如何重要及不可分割地影響著自己的創作方向和思維方式。這體驗其實看似老生常談，但如要運用在媒體藝術創上， 必態還也是要戰戰兢兢地一步走著，一步看著。!

Autumn 2006: I created a series of interactive media works featuring both Simplified and Traditional Chinese characters. The purpose of the work is to enable participants to experience an ambiguous identity of Hong Kong people through two interactive images in real time. The work was displayed in a gallery in Shanghai Bund. I was proud to be a Chinese but I was not happy about certain things in China. Love well, whip well – this is exactly the core value of the work that I wanted to brought to the audience.
Afterwards, my interactive Chinese characters influenced another series of my work – Dao Gives Birth to One. The purpose of this set of works is to displaced by interactive media about “Dao” in Chinese philosophy and its relationship with the Universe. In included the sense of time and space in Chinese scrolls. Contents included the sense of time and space in Chinese scroll. it also included discussion of the interaction of vacant space on paper-based art work and the idea of white in digital virtual space. The results may not be completely satisfactory, but all these may make my generation, who live in the digital world, re-examine that our culture and growth process, is so indispensably influencing our creative direction and thinking process. This experience may seem like a cliché, but using it in the creation of media art, we would have to wait and see.

 

完。(將來待續) TBC
26/ 03 / 2012