Jointly organised by the Art Promotion Office under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Shenzhen Fringe Art Center, the first thematic exhibition "Ink Impressions and Silk Inspirations" of the "Ink Art Ensembles" exhibition series in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) is currently on display at the Guangming Culture and Art Center, Shenzhen. The exhibition features ink art works by Hong Kong artist Raymond Fung, and fashion creations by Shenzhen-based artist Xing Lili using traditional silk fabric xiangyun sha, initiating a cross-media and trans-regional artistic dialogue. The exhibition runs until June 9 with free admission.

     The Art Promotion Office and the Shenzhen Fringe Art Center jointly organised the "Ink Art Ensembles" exhibition series in the GBA from 2024. Guest curated by Hong Ko and Eric Zhu, the series features five exhibitions in four cities, namely Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan and Dongguan in the GBA. The series focuses on ink art as the subject or primary creative medium of the Hong Kong artists, while other GBA artists respond through diverse creative forms with the aim to create a platform for in depth artistic dialogues and to highlight contemporary artistic experimentation and innovation.

     At this exhibition held in Shenzhen, renowned Hong Kong ink artist and architect Raymond Fung infuses spatial aesthetics with ink art, offering his unique perspectives. His artworks such as "Five Ridges", "There're Mountains Beyond Mountains", "Return from the Five Ridges", and an animation "Dynasties" adapted from the artist's painting of the same title, not only showcases the majestic beauty and grandeur of China's landscapes, but also expresses the artist's open and expansive state of mind and humble attitude towards life. In the "Thousands of Words" ink series, Fung uses bar code and seals in his creation, forming a scene like flowers in full bloom, as a symbol of his connection to his birthplace, expressing a profound emotional bond with the land where he grew up.

     Fung has been paying close attention to the Earth's ecological environment. His ink works, "Breathing" and "Life" series, are his profound reflections on life, depicting environmental changes through brushstrokes. The works manifest the oppressive feelings associated with ecological imbalances, revealing his concerns about the natural environment. A Western-style tableware set which was inspired by his "Breathing" series is also on display in the exhibition, capturing the fluid elegance of ink art on everyday objects. The tableware set is selected as the official tableware for the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and is exclusively used in the VIP lounges of Hong Kong International Airport.

     Xing Lili from Shenzhen is committed to preserving and promoting the national intangible cultural heritage "Xiangyun Sha Dyeing and Finishing Technology". In her fashion design collections "Shu Juan", "Ya Lin", "Bu Ji", "Ting Qin" and "Ink Traces on Xiangyun Sha", she combines traditional silk fabric xiangyun sha with contemporary fashion, fuses poetic imagery and rhythmic brushwork into wearable ink lyricism. Inspired by the oriental landscape aesthetics in Fung's "Dynasties" ink painting, Xing's newest "Dynasties" collection transposes classical ink painting principles into contemporary fashion.

     In addition, the exhibition features two short films, namely "Qi Shi", filmed when Raymond Fung turned 70, which offers a glimpse into the depth of insight he gained over a lifetime of artistic practice; and "Documentary on Xiangyun Sha Craftsmanship," which documents the production process of "Xiangyun Sha," a Chinese intangible cultural heritage.

     The exhibition is running at 5F Exhibition Hall C at Art Museum of Guangming Culture and Art Center (No. 3488 Guan Guang Road, Guangming District, Shenzhen). For details of the exhibition, please visit the website of the Art Promotion Office: www.apo.hk/en/web/apo/there_ink_art_ensembles_ink_impressions_and_silk_inspirations.html, and follow the "apothere" page on Facebook www.facebook.com/apo.there and Weibo https://weibo.com/apothere.

     The exhibition is also one of the activities in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.      

Ends/Monday, April 28, 2025
Issued at HKT 18:45

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