Published: 07/01/2025
Following our previous interview with artist Kitty Kong, we’ve interviewed the other artist from the exhibition “Klara and the Orange Cat,” Alex Heung. Let’s delve into his artistic world!
💬: What is the most important significance of the orange cat in your work?
🗣️: I have an orange and white cat who moved into my home at three months old. She was small, just the size of my palm, but had a pair of big ears. Of course, she later grew into a round, plump cat. I love watching her nap in the sunlight, exuding a scent of grass mixed with buttery cookies.
The work is always connected to what the creator cares about. The orange cat may be just a metaphor, representing something primal, genuine and important deep within the creator’s heart, expressed through the work.
💬: The exhibition describes “Klara and the Orange Cat” as an intertwining and entangling between text and daily life. Can you provide some specific examples from this artwork?
🗣️: The intertwining and entangling between text and daily life is felt not only in the creation but also occasionally in the viewers. When we encounter works that resonate with us, the creator opens up a new perspective on daily life, revealing how we can view the original world from different angles.
💬: How do you balance your respective artistic styles in the exhibition?
🗣️: There wasn’t an intention to balance our artistic styles, but surprisingly, we found some interesting connections in the works.
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Alex Heung’s love for nature and animals is fully reflected in his works. The orange cat plays an important symbolic role, conveying messages filled with sincere emotions. The entanglement and intertwining in “Klara and the Orange Cat” present the subtle relationship between text and daily life, inspiring the audience to re-think the connection between books and reality.
In artistic works, we often see the artist’s observations and transformations of daily life. Through the depiction of the orange cat, Alex Heung integrates his feelings about the things around him into his work, deepening the audience experience. The exhibition merges elements of text and real life, breaking the traditional framework of art and enabling viewers to think about the meaning of art from different perspectives.
The artistic styles of Alex Heung and Kitty Kong are not deliberately balanced in the exhibition, yet they illustrate a wonderful connection in their works. This collision and fusion of different styles inject diverse aesthetic viewpoints into the exhibition, presenting a rich and colourful artistic world. We hope that the audience can feel the inspiration and resonance that art brings, and we look forward to more engaging creations in the future.
Klara and the Orange Cat — Exhibition at The Gallery of Hong Kong Art School
Exhibition Period: 5 Dec 2024 – 8 Feb 2025
Time: 11am – 8pm (Closed on Sundays & Public Holidays)
Venue: The Gallery of Hong Kong Art School (10/F, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong)
Artists: Kitty Kong, Alex Heung
