For my final artwork, I made dinnerware with the Hong Kong minibuses (Public Light Bus) as the theme. I don’t know of any ceramic artists that make public transport art. My inspiration for my final artwork is from my love for public transport and not an inspiration from any particular Hong Kong artist. Hence why I wanted to research if I could find any artists in Hong Kong who made this kind of art focused on public transport in general and not just limit it to the Public Light Bus (PLB).
While researching online trying to find transportation artists, I remembered an artwork I stumbled upon at Hollywood Plaza at Diamond Hill. It was a large print of a colorful tram riding in Hong Kong. I immediately took a liking to this artwork and it hasn't really left my mind since. The artist, Kongkee (Kong Hong-Chuen) is an animation artist from Hong Kong. His art is typically vibrant and hyper-saturated. The art style reminds of pop art with its simplified illustrations and pure slabs of colors rather than working with gradients. Kongkee’s style is also quite heavily rooted in ‘80s and ‘90s East Asian comics.
Something that really captured my eye when I saw his artwork, besides the vibrant colors, was the perspective. Kongkee managed to create an interesting, story-telling composition with the feeling of depth by using flat colors with no real way of shading. The artwork contains five colors, but they all work together so well to convey this tram traveling across Central in the late afternoon.
During an interview, Kongkee tells us a story about this artwork. This tram artwork is a composition of one of his childhood memories from riding the tram through the North Point. His use of vivid colors is his way of expressing his feelings towards the tense atmosphere of Hong Kong, especially in Central. Although his artworks may seem flat, Kongkee takes the liberty to use a lot of textures in his prints because it represents noise, as if you would be able to hear the environment through the print.
As Kongkee expresses his experience of Hong Kong through his colorful artworks, I am expressing my most vivid and memorable experiences in Hong Kong. The PLB is special to me because it was a new experience and also an accomplishment, a step closer to being independent. Coming to Hong Kong from Norway, the PLB was definitely a culture shock. It was troubling trying to figure out how to get off the bus and know where you were. After a few bus rides, I got more used to it and it felt good, like a milestone in life.
References
Bloomberg. (2022, August 3). Interview with Hong Kong-based artist, Kongkee and John Tain of asia art archive | bloomberg LP. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/company/stories/interview-with-hong-kong-based-artist-kongkee-and-john-tain-of-asia-art-archive/
Kongkee: Warring states cyberpunk - exhibitions - asian art museum. Exhibitions. (2022, December 2). Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://exhibitions.asianart.org/exhibitions/kongkee-warring-states-cyberpunk/
