Prologue
The texture and weight of objects travel from the eyes through the mind to the palms. Blooming flowers, a half-filled water bottle, an uneven candlestand… I try to rearrange the scattered objects on the table. Each time I pick one up, it tells me a story or a quote. They may seem ordinary, yet their daily existence bears witness to countless moments, resonating with different metaphors. The six artists in the exhibition ‘Still a-Life’ are like still-life objects encountered in passing—each one distinct. The exhibition serves as an imaginary table, placing people and objects to create a contemporary interpretation of still life.
Chapter 1 Still Life Narrates an Era - Eastman Cheng
Cheng: In this series of still-life works, I aim to incorporate objects that embody Hong Kong’s values and memories, including items from various eras and local charts. The focus is primarily on the objects themselves and the methods of their creation.
Chan: The charts remind me of the globes in traditional still-life paintings—they symbolize an information system, transforming data into symbols. The artist’s selection of vintage objects and traditional craftsmanship，similar to an express and resolve system, bridging between Hong Kong’s past and present.
Chapter 2 Viewing Life Through Still Life - Dave Ho Lok Chung
Ho: I seek to explore boundaries and intersections—between the visible and invisible, the real and the fake, clarity and ambiguity. It resembles looking into a glass bottle, where images refract between the surface and the interior.
Chan: We often impose subjective interpretations on the purpose of objects. Yet, if we examine their essence from various angles, we uncover layers of truth.
Chapter 3 Stories Between Reality and Illusion - Kong Chun Nga Kitty
Kong: Still-life painting traditionally depicts motionless imagery arranged indoors on a table. I wanted to take this tableau outdoors, assembling unusual objects within the stillness of urban spaces.
Chan: Still-life paintings can hold endless narratives, merging half-reality and half-fantasy, half-control and half-openness. They foster a collaborative creation between the artist and the viewer over time.
Chapter 4 Exploring the boundaries of painting to Express Abstract Concepts - Lau Sze Man
Lau: I view still-life painting as an observational exercise in mixed media. While tracing the boundaries of objects from the edges of the canvas. The process feels like I’m re-defining the quantifiers of objects. When these objects are chosen as subjects for the still life paintings, they extend into the imagination evoked by their presence on the canvas.
Chan: The outlines of the objects reflect the artist’s vision, using painting to express abstract concepts within the figurative. The individuality, recognition, and boundaries of objects blur, allowing the interplay between flatness and three-dimensionality to coexist.
Chapter 5 Must Still Life Be Real? - Joey Leung
Leung: My work revolves around magical tools for wishing and transformation. By placing these fictional objects within
a "still-life painting," they appear to exist as if they were real.
Chan: From the virtual to the tangible, the work challenges our perceptions of what constitutes an "object." Although we’ve never encountered these magical items in reality, they linger in our fantasies and across different media. Are we pursuing the material itself or the idea behind it?
Chapter 6 Dynamic Still Life - Vickie Li
Lee: My works gather and recall objects, such as cake, oranges, milk; using figuration to romanticize innocence. While my still lifes appear lifeless, they are teeming with energy, revealing the fluctuations of the intangible.
Chan: The paintings connect stillness and motion, presenting opposing forces simultaneously. They illustrate how ordinary objects can serve as conduits for emotion, bridging the physical realm with unseen sentiments, social issues, and life’s dilemmas.
Epilogue
In ‘Still a-Life’, the artists transform into novelists—their still lifes are not mere objects but reimagined narratives of "things." Here, objects are not simply arranged but await discovery like evidence, carrying quiet drama and philosophy. The artists focus not on the aesthetic considerations or surface appearances of traditional still-life painting, but on the cultural reflections and experimental creations that emerge from the framework of objects.