The First Time

On the 19^th January, I went to an art gallery with my classmates in Fo Tan. It was a free exhibition called Fotanian, committed by lots of local and oversea artists and was held for 3 weekends started from the 5^th January. Since nowadays the industrial buildings in Hong Kong, such as those in Fotan, are left empty, artists started to make use of the empty lofts as their studios. There they are, the galleries, where the artists work on their projects. There were many buildings in the area included in the event. However, due to the limited opening period of time, we had just observed one. That is, Wah Luen Industrial Centre block B.

Yet had we got our foot stepped inside the lobby, the ladies at the reception counter stopped us.

‘ I personally recommend Lee’s workshop on the 12^th floor.’

It was like a relief. As we had no idea of where to begin, that studio was a really good start-up point. While we explored through the room, we found out that the artist was a keen user of metal. Colors used in the room were all in a cold tone. As well as this, through the description book placed on the desk, we noticed that many of his works are being displayed in MTR stations and shopping malls. Clearly, the art pieces of his are widely accepted.

There was one piece that impressed me very much, which is called, <Tree>. It is made of rusted metal branches in different shapes. Rod shapes, square shapes, they are all arranged in different height as tree stem. However, there is still one essential element of a tree missing--- the fruits. Lee used rearview mirrors as fruits to make the ‘tree’ even more believable. Some may ask, it is just an ordinary tree-like-art, why does it impress you so much? It is actually the meaning behind that attracted me. The artist said in his book that this piece is conveying a message: If you are facing the future, you need to look back to the past. That is why he used rearview mirrors. They stand for: recollecting the past.

I found a great resonance on the message. In our everyday lives, it is rather dangerous for us not to learn from the past. We need to learn from the mistakes we had made in order to get a better results in the coming events. Either it is an exam or a love relationship, the past, do matter. And by reviewing our past, we got to know ourselves more. I was on an important role of a committee group in my secondary school. At first, I didn’t notice that some characters in my personality are not so loveable. However, through the rather harsh, or say, real and direct comments given from my committee members, I learnt to think what I had done in the group. From reflecting on myself, there are improvements have been made. Now, they all say: you are now doing better.

However, although the meaning was really enchanting, the grim atmosphere of the studio somehow made us uncomfortable. Therefore, we decided to move on to another room. It was Laiyan projects on the 16^th floor that we visited next. Just as we entered the room, we were surprised by the big contrast. The studio was so cozy! There was pink sofa, white walls, and even kitchen inside! The colors and soft music played in the room gave us a warm sense. The owners of this gallery are Peter Benz and Cornelia Erdmann. Cornelia Erdmann is a familiar name to me as she is the creator of The People, but this time, it was another piece of her caught my eye.

In clover, a wall installation, was placed on the wall by the door side. It was made of stainless steel. The metal were cut thin and made to a two-dimensioned tree. There are small leaves and thin branches. By only looking at the tree may find nothing special. However, when you look at the insects attached beside the tree, you will find it not only amazing but also smart. The stainless butterflies, dragonfly and ladybird bodies are all cut into half. But, the half bodies of the insects are made to see like whole. The artist used spotlights shining in different angles to create three-dimensional complete insects with only half of their bodies. Girls love shinny things. This shimmering In Clover is definitely eye-catching and beautiful. I kept admiring the creator’s smart use of light while looking at the glittering butterflies. Later on, I noticed that this kind of installation was also brought into hotel rooms as decoration.

The exhibition was really a blast. But there was still a little interlude. When we went on to another studio, a poster stuck at the door surprised us all. It stated that an artwork was stolen and hopes that person can kindly put it back. It was kind of reflecting how people respect the word 'ART'. To me, if you like that piece, you can take some pictures or even talk to the artist to get to know more about the art, but definitely not taking it away without permission. The end of this story was left an unknown as we go into the room though.

There was a wood-made sculpture called <The Spaceship of Fools> that amazed us. It was a ball-shaped sculpture formed by lots of small wooden statues. All of them have different faces and ‘height’. Some of them have similar faces to the mask in a movie—Scream. That was what we find funny about. 

Within the sculpture, there was only one among them painted gold. As the artist—Mr Wai-Lun Chung was standing beside; it became a golden opportunity for us to ask.

‘Why is that one gold in color?’

‘There are always rich and poor in this world, but both of them seldom do anything to the Earth.’

The answer triggered even more curiosity, so we went on asking about why he say so, what was the purpose of the work and how did he make this happen.

‘Have you ever heard of ‘The Earth we are living in is a large UFO? It takes all of us travel around the universe. However, it’s now cracked. What’s more, none of them knows what to do, not even the rich.’

No sooner had he said the ‘cracked’ word, we realized there was a rift. We discovered that the ‘people’ on the ‘spaceship’ were looking at each other with shocking expressions. They seemed afraid of being stuck on the ship. Indeed, this is what our social norm nowadays shows. Every one of us knows about the problem happening on Earth. For example, global warming, strong demonstrations, protests, etc, all of them are known facts but little of us tried to do things to help in the situations. However, when we asked: Did you make this to reflect on the lack of environmental protection? He didn’t say yes or no but ‘Maybe’. There was a short pause, thinking, as if we were all reflecting on ourselves. Moments later, we got to know that the statues were all hand-made by abandoned woods. They were carved after different level of burning so as to create their own colors. The artist’s gave us a feeling that he did everything with no original intension. Yet, the art piece ended up thought provoking.

Art, was once a distant word. However, I find this word basically is our daily life after the event. Things what you see may not be what it is. The hidden messages can make them different. All in all, Fotanian worths visiting again and again. I will definitely recommend it to my friends and family.

﹣the Scream photo gives credits to  http://www.ascot-elite.ch/modules/obomovie/media.php?page_id=1&lang=1&suisa=1007.950