Presented at Art Central 2023, UOB Art Space: Margaret Yeung Kwok Fan, Interwoven: Wired Shanshui, 2023, Interactive Installation. Courtesy of UOB.
Interwoven: Wired Shanshui (2023)
Margaret Yeung Kwok Fan
Interwoven: Wired Shanshui was a large-scale interactive ink art installation by Hong Kong-based artist Margaret Yeung Kwok Fan, commissioned by UOB. The presentation transformed the conventional viewing experience of a two-dimensional landscape painting into a three-dimensional contemporary shanshui sculpture, using recycled copper wires sourced from industrial waste, and natural waste wood discarded from storms.
Having spent months collecting her raw materials, the artist dedicated hours upon hours to delicately twist and bend the oxidised copper wires, exuding the same effect as painting lines with a brush dipped in Chinese ink. The upcycling of wood, remnants of typhoons past, resemble hills and mountains from a distance, as if drawn from a classical shanshui literati painting. The myriad colours of the copper wires are a result of variations in oxidation and humidity, emblematic of the wonderful landscapes of the four seasons.
Yeung reinterprets traditional Chinese landscape painting by embracing contemporary materials and technology of our times. Copper wires and Chinese painting are two seemingly disparate elements. By interweaving them the artist seeks to deliver ‘hybridity’, a peaceful coexistence of the natural and the man-made, of the traditional and the contemporary. The contrasting materials are interwoven in harmony, connecting the past, present, and future of traditional Chinese aesthetics, whilst highlighting the hopeful progress of sustainability and environmental protection.
Through UOB’s mentorship initiatives, Yeung collaborated with and guided Guo Yin Kam, a student winner of the UOB Art in Ink Awards, to create an interactive digital installation. Featuring drawings from Guo as well as animated elements from Yeung’s digital ink paintings, the artwork will flux and change in response to visitors’ movements. Together, Interwoven: Wired Shanshui invites audiences to interact with the installation, pause, and contemplate the harmony between man, nature and art.
About the Artist
Margaret Yeung Kwok Fan’s works are not limited to two-dimensional, three-dimensional, digital, or installation forms. The focus is on embodying the spirit of traditional painting, revealing the philosophical concept of harmony between humanity and nature, and incorporating contemporary elements related to environmental protection. Her goal is to combine ancient and contemporary thought to reinterpret Chinese landscape aesthetics, creating a hybrid form of contemporary Chinese art, seeking to establish a cross-media order between tradition and modernity, and continuing traditional aesthetics in a contemporary way.
Yeung graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1985, and received her Master of Fine Arts and Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from RMIT University in Australia in 2004 and 2014 respectively. She is currently the chairman of the Hong Kong Modern Ink Painting Association and an instructor at the School of Professional and Continuing Education, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Yeung has held eight solo exhibitions, participated in numerous group exhibitions both domestically and internationally, and participated in artist residency programs for sustainable art. Several art museums, including the Shandong Museum, Weifang Museum, and Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum, collect her works.
2022 UOB Art in Ink Awards Winners' Showcase
UOB presents 18 winning artworks drawn from the 2022 UOB Art in Ink Awards, from calligraphy and painting, to mixed-media works across the categories of Abstract and Landscape or Figurative painting.
Talks Programme
UOB x Art Central Panel Discussion: Inner Reflections—New Interpretations of Traditional Ink
Saturday 25 March 2023, 3 pm
Presented by UOB
Speakers: Mr Calvin Hui (Co-founder and Chairman of 3812 Gallery and Founder of Ink Now), Dr Sarah Ng (Curator of the Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery), Dr Chloe Suen (Chair of Simon Suen Foundation, Founder of Sun Museum), and Dr Margaret Yeung (New Ink artist)
Moderator: Zabrina Lo (Feature Editor, Tatler Hong Kong)
Conducted in Cantonese
The artistic transformation of classical approaches in Chinese ink art is a theme readily explored by many artists, many of whom draw from the historical canon of traditional ink paintings to create unique aesthetics that honour the past while also evolving from it. Despite the plethora of varied approaches, therein lies a common thread that weaves through many creative practices: that ink art does not pursue physical resemblance of objects, but rather embodies the subtleties of stillness and tranquillity. From the rhythmic beauty of ink’s movement, to the spiritual and philosophical explorations of ink as an art form, four artists share their personal journeys and quiet reflections with Chinese ink art. Working across calligraphic lines, grandiose brushstrokes, shades of colour, and sculpted shanshui landscapes, the panellists offer insight into the breadth and depth of ink art as it stands today, highlighting the concurrent development of forward-thinking innovations as well as the humanistic values that the art form continues to adhere to.
UOB Art Explorer
UOB Art Explorer was a Chinese ink art experience corner for visitors to learn and explore the development of modern and contemporary Chinese ink art. Audiences were invited to explore Chinese ink through various forms of art creation, inspired by the sculptures and installations by Hong Kong-based artist Margaret Yeung Kwok Fan and the winning artworks of the UOB Art in Ink Awards.
