2006-10-19 / South China Morning Post Review/SCMP(Hong Kong)

2006-10-19 scmp review
West Journey October 19, 2006 Thursday SECTION: FEATURES; Review; Pg. 3 LENGTH: 353 words BYLINE: Jade Lee-Duffy   Central Plaza Ends October 31 Lam Tung-pang hasn't returned empty- handed after three years in London. He picked up a Master of Arts at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and the Hunting Art Prize Young Artist of the Year 2005. The award, considered one of the top three in Britain, makes the Chinese University of Hong Kong fine-art graduate the first Chinese artist to win the prize since it was established 25 years ago. West Journey is Lam's visual representation of his time in London, with mixed-media paintings and video installations playing with the harmony of elements, infusing non-traditional materials with different textures, mediums and sounds. In Back (top) Lam creates a painting of charcoal, acrylic and metal on wood that clangs and chimes with resonance. Thin metal strips hang on the backs of the two musicians. Their delicate flesh is exposed wood, giving their bodies a natural look as they seemingly tap the metal strips inside the painting. You can almost hear the notes. Demo is a playful two-minute video installation of Lam and his friend Tseng Wei-ho acting like children. With a backdrop of simple, colourful flat shapes and flowers, the duo dance and jump on musical strips that produce electronic twangs and piercing pitches. Their carefree behaviour attempts to break out of societal rules and norms. Another playful, yet functional piece is In the Memory of Rainbow (left), a collection of 12 photographs showing a shape-changing park bench. It has an inner core painted in flowing pinks, blues and yellows. With an accordion-like flexibility, the wood slices are held together by hinges and can be reconfigured into a circular, fluid or rectangular shape. Lam built the bench and then left it in Greenwich Park, where people could share their feelings, reminisce about loved ones and look up at rainbows. Lam's work engages the viewer to look beyond the materials, to hear harmony between meaning and art. Daily, 9am-9pm, Central Plaza 1/F Lobby, 18 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai. Also showing works at OC Gallery, G/F Olympian City I, Hoi Fai Rd, West Kowloon. Inquiries: 2132 8718
2006-10-19 scmp review
 
South China Morning Post