Lau Kam Hung: Silver Lining at Touch Gallery

Deceptive nature

From far away, works by Lau Kam Hung may look painted on a metal surface—brushed aluminium maybe?—or even like engravings. They may also look like peaceful scenes of quiet forests or serene landscapes of faraway lands. To some they may appear as traditional Chinese landscape ink paintings, idealistic and perfect.

Yet they are not exactly any of that. And it’s not because they were intentionally made to deceive you in any way, it’s just the influence of Hong Kong nature. My absolutely unscientific but very poetic theory is that Hong Kong exists simultaneously in several time frames: it is partly ancient, somewhere colonial, a bit futuristic, somewhat rural, and episodically cyberpunk. Hong Kong is a multilayered complex tapestry that is way bigger than the physical space it occupies. Local art reflects that fully: themes coexist but don’t contradict, co-influence but don’t merge.

So here lays their deceptive nature: these paintings are of real contemporary scenes—some depict typhoon aftermath, some are views of artist’s neighbourhood. They are indeed influenced by Chinese technique but also Western compositional tradition. And they are made with graphite and paint on the silver paper. Oh, also and they are varnished for durability and safety so you can actually touch them (but please don’t unless you bought them). But at the same time they are absolutely traditional Chinese and deeply philosophical landscapes, suggesting you, the viewer, to slow down and reflect on the nature of matter and time (or just on the nature since Hong Kong has very specific relationships with natural phenomena). There’s no contradiction in this duality, just a bit of a typical Hong Kong time and space warping.

Exhibition period: 5—30.12
Gallery address: Shop 103 & 202, 1-2/F, Barrack Block, Tai Kwun