‘Some days I spend 10 hours carving’: printmaking artists in Hong Kong under the spotlight in special fundraising exhibition
- The exhibition ahead of the Hong Kong Open Printshop’s 25th anniversary shows off the city’s printmaking culture, offering prints that will not break the bank
- Funds raised will go towards two new spaces for the printshop that will ‘greatly benefit the new generation’, its programme director says
It is fair to say that Jay Lau Ka-chun suffers for his art.
“Some days I spend up to 10 hours carving, so it can cause pain in my shoulders. I wear this quite a lot,” the 26-year-old says, holding up a portable wraparound neck and shoulder massager.
The printmaker is speaking in his studio in the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC) in Hong Kong’s Shek Kip Mei area.
Printmaking comes in many forms, from lithography to silk screen printing. Lau makes woodblock prints by hand, a type of relief printing method that can be traced back to China’s Tang dynasty (618-907).
On a studio wall leans a large, newly finished woodblock titled Reality but Virtual: Square. It is impossible not to be blown away by the dense intricacy of the 120cm by 90cm (47 inch by 35 inch) piece, which depicts Hong Kong’s skyline, the Liberty Square in Taiwan’s capital Taipei, and La Pietà by Michelangelo – a composition of Lau’s favourite things, which he patiently created with thousands of cuts.
This is what Lau is known for: he has literally carved a reputation for creating super-detailed pieces.
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It is also typical of him to go big. For his 2019 graduation project at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he made a pair of self-portraits measuring eight metres (26 feet) high.
The JCCAC building is the perfect place for his studio. The building was once a print factory and today, giant clunky presses are scattered around the creative space.
It also houses the Hong Kong Open Printshop (HKOP), the city’s first non-profit open printshop run by artists, which was established in 2000. Lau has been working with it closely since he received the “Hong Kong Fine Print” award from HKOP the year he graduated.
At the moment, Lau is working alongside experienced local printmakers such as Lee Mei-kuen, Cheung Chung-chu and Fung Ho-yin for a special fundraising exhibition ahead of HKOP’s 25th anniversary in 2025.
From March 22-24, the exhibition at PMQ will present different kinds of prints that will not break the bank and also help provide a better understanding of HKOP’s work.
Lau is showing Icon No. 3 (HK$4,000/US$510), which combines woodblock printing and image transfer generated using digital imaging software and artificial intelligence. It shows two types of icons: ancient sculptures related to religion and mythology, and contemporary images of idols from popular culture.
Avery Lau Hong-lam is offering five editions of his screen print The Proof of the Cake is in the Eating (HK$9,000 per print). The prints are created using mezzotint, a printmaking technique developed in the 17th century that uses a tool to create a coarse surface on a metal plate.
Sunshine and Salt (HK$4,800), coloured wood engraving prints by Lam King-ting, are also for sale, as are 10 editions of Falling into the Water (HK$2,600), an intaglio etching by Jeannie Wong Ho-ching.
“The exhibition is a way to not only support local creativity but a chance to help preserve Hong Kong’s print art culture,” says HKOP’s programme director, Yung Sau-mui. Demonstrations, artist-led guided tours and letterpress printing experiences will also be held over the weekend of the exhibition.
Funds raised will go towards HKOP’s two new spaces that will open next year: one at PMQ and an extra space at JCCAC.
Falling under the “HKOP Print Art Contemporary” project, the spaces will be used for cultural events, exhibitions and research studies to foster collaborations between local and international art organisations.
“The new spaces will greatly benefit the new generation,” Yung says.
“Prologue: HKOP Print Art Contemporary Fundraising Exhibition”, SG03-07, G/F, Block A, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen St, Central, March 22-24. Opening hours 6.30pm-9pm (Fri), 12pm-7pm (Sat and Sun). Entry is free.
