The Last Supper - Art in Asia

I sat down with Cambodian-based artist Svay Sareth. We began our conversation talking about how the Blue Art Center provides free art education to children to become independent and find their own way, the impact of imagination, Sareth spoke passionately about his mission to preserve Cambodian’s artisanship and history for the next generation, and his performance work eat rubber sandals. We talked...

Researcher and curator Michelle Wong talked about her PhD research, discussed her work on Hong Kong artist Ha Bik Chuen, big egos, the weird sculpture in Aberdeen, and she explained her project New Park. Michelle Wun Ting Wong is a PhD candidate in Art History at the University of Hong Kong, exploring the modernity emerging from Post WWII Hong Kong. Her writing has been published in Ambitious Alig...

Jolene Mok is an experimental artist. We talked about a range of subjects but started with her experience of not being able to see anything, the mundane or the exciting part of boredom, heuristics, deep ocean exploration in Barbados, and the red forest of “Life Is Elsewhere” Jolene Mok (b. 1984) was born and raised in Hong Kong. An experimental artist, she takes video art and experimental film as...

Researcher Shih-Yu Hsu and director, curator Zoe Yeh of the Honggah Museum in Taipei talked about the upcoming Taiwan International Video Art Installation (TIVA) that is opening on the 4th of November, we discussed the multiple narratives of this year’s theme Living Togetherness, and how they make art more inclusive. Shih-yu Hsu is an independent researcher and writer. She has been a member of the...

Cambodian-based artist Yim Maline talked from her place in Phnom Penh about her dream of becoming an artist, her experience of going to France without a grant and not being able to speak the language, we also delved into how nature informs her work, and we discussed why she began the Blue Art Center initiative. Yim Maline’s artworks. From her meticulous graphite-on- paper drawings to her bold scul...

In today’s episode I sat down with Jeannie Wong, a print maker based in Hong Kong. We talked about her journey into print making, what inspires and informs her drawings, and she talked about her work she made for Art Basel. Wong Jeannie Ho Ching was born and raised in Hong Kong, and is currently based in Hong Kong. She graduated from MA Print, Royal College of Art in 2021, Visual Arts Academy, Hon...

Architect turned artist Justin Hui sat down with me to talk about his journey into art that started in Africa, how globalisation is shaping cities in Africa and the rest of the world, the impact of colonialism and appropriation, the erosion of Hong Kong’s history, and we discussed the semiosis of imagery. Justin started making images when he took a one-way flight to Africa back in 2014 to document...

In today’s episode I talk with artist Chi Yu from his studio in Taiwan. Together we delved into several areas such as the ambiguous roles of the Han Chinese as settlers and occupiers in his work called “Settlers and the Unhomely”, we continued our discussion about his project "Atlas of the Closed Worlds", a work that illustrates the global development of the closing of nations, and we lo...

In today’s episode I have the pleasure of talking with Vuth Lyno, a Cambodian-based artist, curator, and educator. From his studio in Phnom Penh, we delved into his work Spirit Houses, spirituality in Cambodia, and his rainbow machine maker. Vuth Lyno also talked about his collective Sa Sa Art Projects and the role of placemaking in his work. Vuth Lyno is an artist, curator, and educator intereste...

In today’s episode I had the pleasure of meeting Dr Sonia Wong, a performance artist and poet based in Hong Kong. We began our conversation about her role at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, how her diglossic poetry and writing has informed her body of work, we talked about embodied experiences, and lastly we discussed her latest 3-day performance work One Sheet of Warm Coexistence in which sh...

Michelle chan is a photographer, artist and in today’s episode we talked about how she shifted her career from computer science to behavioural therapy to art, how she discovered the unexpected passion of her late uncle, and the different reasons why people take Citybusses in Hong Kong. Michelle Chan Wan Chee is an artist who works primarily in photography. She uses the camera and manipulated image...

Poet and artist Maung Day talked with me from his home in Yangon, Myanmar which is also formerly known as Burma. We began our conversation about what was driving him to draw, the ugly and the beautiful, how he reconstructives narratives through poetry and drawings, and the challenge of translation between languages and domains. MAUNG DAY is an acclaimed poet and visual artist hailing from Myanmar....

In today’s episode I met Mindy Lui, a Hong Kong-based artist. From her studio we discussed her work and began our conversation with her airing blanket project, we discussed the background of her tangerine peel work, talked about how she collaborated with Hidden Space team and we delved into how the value of objects change over time. Mindy LUI (b.1997, Hong Kong) obtained her BA in Fine Arts from t...

I’m back on the ferry to another island in Hong Kong. I travelled to meet artist Yip Kai Chun on Peng Chau where we talked about how he learnt to speak Hakka, the impact of its decline, how a new generation was exposed to Hakka through his community project and the upcoming Inter-Island Art Festival in Hong Kong. Yip Kai Chun is an artist-curator born and based in Hong Kong. Neglected history, cul...

Wing Sze Lam is a Hong Kong-based video artist and she talked about her role at the M+ museum, why she identified herself with a fisherman, the foundation of creativity and we discussed the meaning of art. Lam Wing Sze is a Hong Kong–based video artist. She received her BA from the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, in 2015. Lam currently works in museum education. Participated...

Artist Aktin Drieglo is my next guest on The Last Supper. From his Cheung Chau studio we spoke about the role of alter egos, how they function as a kind of escapism, social-ecological issues, and how his work has evolved from graffiti to paintings. Olgierd is a professional visual artist, designer and architect. Born in 80s  Poland, he practiced arts in Berlin, notably street art. He then moved to...

Artist and illustrator Pearl Law talked about adapting to European sensibilities, Hong Kong - Japanese dog owner behaviour, the notion of modernology or Kougengaku, and we spoke about her art residence in Japan. Pearl Law is an illustrator, comic artist, and a zine publisher. She graduated from University of the West of England with a degree in Illustration. Much of her work takes inspiration from...

Dr Caroline Ha Thuc is a researcher, curator, writer and lecturer. I met her at Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong and together we talked about her residency programme Walden, her current project about the ecology of cacao in Asia, we delved into the challenges of today’s discourses, and her role as a lecturer. Dr. Caroline Ha Thuc is a French Hong Kong based independent art writer and curator. She hol...

Strange Strangers curated by Cusson Cheng is a duo-artist exhibition at Para Site in Hong Kong. I sat down with both artists, Shuyi Cao who is based in New York and Hong Kong-based Leelee Chan. I began the conversation asking about their working method, their relationship with materiality, their work at the current show at Para Site, and what art is for in relation to climate change. Leelee Chan (...

This episode addresses viewer stones or scholar’s rocks. These are naturally occurring or shaped rocks that are cherished by scholars. Together with curator and writer Olivia Wang we explored the tribulations of writing, what makes a stone a scholar’s rock and we discussed her project Unsung Heroes of Ink that she directed and produced. Olivia Wang is an independent curator and writer based in Hon...

In this episode I travelled to Kowloon Bay in Hong Kong where I met painter Jeremy Ip in his studio and gallery space. We talked about how emptiness evokes imagination, the challenge of owning a gallery space, why it is important to have different viewpoints, and how Jeremy cultivates different perspectives through the activities at his art gallery. Jeremy Ip is a painter based in Hong Kong, a bus...

I sat down with Winsome Wong in Hong Kong. We talked about what she meant by textures and layering in her video work, what she finds so fascinating about imperfections and we delved into her family’s project Lorna’s Party that features her mother and family from the Philippines.  Winsome Wong mainly works on videography and the sculpting of images. Through moving along with her camera, composing a...

In this episode I sat down with artist Reo Ma in his studio in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong. We touched on multiple aspects of his work including how he has learnt to make garments, the value of creation, how he dealt with depression and his latest project Form n Void. Atelier Reo Ma represents a life philosophy aimed at inspiring people from different background and walks of life. Different mediums...

In today's episode I sat down with Hong Kong based artist May Yeung. We talked about how she began as a sculptor and how she transitioned to a full-time mixed media artist, her motivation behind her charity Art of MY Family, the impact of cancer on her art practice , and how she engages the general audience through her art workshops.   May Yeung specialises in sculpture-making and public arts....

During this episode, I had the pleasure of meeting Jiyoung Park, who serves as the director of Whitestone Gallery in Seoul, Korea. Our conversation covered a range of topics, including political science, the difficulties posed by fake news, the impact of a new generation of art collectors on the art market, the Frieze art fair in Seoul, and the current state of art fairs in Asia. Jiyoung Park is D...