Published: 10/9/2024
Beyond Chaos, Only Creation — Exhibition at The Gallery of Hong Kong Art School is now on display We had a heart-to-heart to explore the works and inspiration of the three participating artists: Maria Cheung, Toby Wong and Waverly Wong.
What message do you hope to convey through your artworks in this exhibition?
This exhibition aims to help viewers find order and meaning within themselves by looking beyond the surface of apparent randomness. Our works reflect our own journeys of self-discovery, capturing the essence of creativity and revealing the extraordinary hidden within the ordinary. By exploring the complexities of human perception, social structures, and natural systems, we hope to provoke deep reflection on life, values, and existence. We hope that our audience will discover hidden patterns and aesthetics in our works and feel the power of artistic expression. Ultimately, we want people to re-examine this seemingly chaotic world, find inspiration for their own creativity, and gain insight into the inner order of things.
How would you describe your artistic style and media used? Can you briefly outline your creative process from initial concept to completed artwork?
Each of us approaches art from our own unique perspectives that’s been shaped by our backgrounds, experiences, and preferences. For example, Maria explores the passage of time and traces, Toby focuses on the complexities of life and inner emotions, while Waverly is drawn to past lives, present lives, and mysticism. Though our individual creative preferences differ, we all share a process of systematic self-exploration.
Our artistic styles range from figurative and documentary to abstract forms, all striving to present inner order, spontaneity, and dynamism. We utilise a variety of media that includes painting, photography, and sculpture to peel back layers of appearance and explore the essence of things through visual language.
Our creative processes begin with inspiration and involve repeated experimentation and refinement until the final artwork is complete. We filter countless sources of inspiration until we focus on our core creative themes, which we call “Beyond Chaos, Only Creation”. Through this process, we hope to share our thoughts and insights when facing randomness and confusion, allowing viewers to connect with our feelings expressed in the works.
Having graduated from Hong Kong Art School and RMIT University years ago, what’s different about having an exhibition back at the School?
For the three of us, exhibiting at the Gallery of Hong Kong Art School is both a homecoming and a new beginning. Compared to our early works as students, we now have more experience and depth of thought. Our artistic practices have a clearer direction, and our works reflect our understanding of today’s society. We hope to share our creations and ideas with the School’s faculty, students, and a wider audience. This not only affirms our personal growth but also gives back to the Hong Kong Art School for the education we received.
What are some interesting facts about organising this exhibition that you would like to share?
The preparation and installation process was filled with amusing little incidents. For instance, we initially planned to etch text directly onto the gallery walls but realised the font size was too small . We quickly adaptedby using semi-transparent paper for printing instead, which gave the text a misty, ‘poetic’ visual effect.
Another challenge arose when we wanted to hang artwork on both sides of the corridor, only to discover that the space was too narrow for comfortable viewing. We adjusted the layout by concentrating the works on one side thus creating a more spacious pathway.
While these adjustments were born out of practical constraints, they actually sparked our creativity and ultimately resulted in an even better art experience for the audience. This exemplifies the very nature of artistic creation: a continuous process of adaptation and exploration.
