Sands China president Wilfred Wong
If Covid-19 has taught Water Poon anything, it is the skills to maneuver social media platforms, a digital sphere in which he was a greenhorn before the pandemic, but in which he has now become an enthusiast periodically posting his artwork. All Poon wants is to evoke a sense of serenity in viewers in this tumultuous era.
“The pandemic has taught me two things. First, it has given us tranquil downtime to re-ponder our lives. Secondly, it prompted us not to idle away this spare time,” said Poon, a Hong Kong-raised artist renowned for and versed in photography and Chinese ink painting.
Ever since the coronavirus started sweeping across the world, Poon and his wife have been staying in Guangzhou — where travel has long been totally out of the question.
During their spare time, the couple decided to open an official account on WeChat and Douyin. The latter is a visual and music-oriented app aimed at young people worldwide, an app which the artist had never tuned in to.
Navigating social media has always been so effortless for young people, but was not so for most baby boomers who grew up without smartphones. Poon is no exception. He was intimidated by technology, and a lack of computer knowledge had stymied his zeal for daily digitalizing and publicizing his work.
Fast forward to today, Poon now posts regularly, having published hundreds of posts on WeChat. Most showcase his pieces, be it photography, drawing, painting, adorned with short verses explaining the inspiration behind his every piece of art.
“We want to create something meaningful, artistic, cultural, and encouraging on the social platform,” Poon said. “Yes. We do. We want to convey a sense of positivity,” his wife added shortly after.
With Macau being the only region that has a quarantine-free travel agreement with the mainland, Poon was able to organize a retrospective in Macau, moving his art-sharing passion from online to offline, and trying his utmost to use his art to give people a sense of being anchored during Covid-19.
Dust-free
Sitting against his landscape drawing depicting the signature contour of Guilin in China, Poon stood out with his long and silky greyish hair. He was expounding on the rationale behind the exhibition, titled “The State of Dust-Free – Water Poon Works” — his first art exhibition in Macau since the coronavirus outbreak.
“This world contains too much dust. It would be much better if it could be dust-free,” he said. “And I entitled it ‘The State,’ as I want to create a ‘State’ where the audience can come to appreciate the paintings, the photography,” he said, explaining the title of the exhibition to the Times in an interview.
The retrospective is comprised of more than 50 of his stellar pieces handpicked by him, including ink paintings, photos and sculptures.
The renowned master has always been experimenting with novel approaches to reframe his work of art. This time, he has flexed his aesthetic muscles on the exhibition space and design.
Water Poon
The Four Seasons has given the artist several hotel rooms to transform into a display hall. With such a special venue, Poon set to work reconditioning it into a space characteristic of him.
The artist is striving to keep the exhibition distinguishable from the cookie-cutter galleries out there: the same venue, the same way of displaying the works, but with different pieces mounted; a format he regards as “not the best way for art appreciation.”
To create the exhibition that best showcases his works, it took Poon and his wife around five days to set up: starting from spatial design, thematic creation, to where and how to display each art piece.
What makes this venue more extraordinary is that it is not in a four-square dimension. The whole area is comprised of many routes which invites the audience to explore further.
Under Poon’s meticulous curation, the venue exudes a vibe so casual and social, with the help of the warmly lit atmosphere and the creamy white wall, that is bound to impress whoever enters it with powerful yet placid touches.
Poon’s photos are set in the display space closest to the entrance, whilst his wall-length drawing awaits the guests at the end of this artistic journey.
Inside the exhibition, the pieces that most take center stage are his massive landscape painting of Huangshan and landscapes in China. The depths and finery in them would slow visitors down, beckoning them to become immersed in life’s contemplations.
To the artist, Huangshan and Gulin are indeed the two tranquil and dust-free areas.
“We have been residing in the concrete jungle and modern hustles. If we get to have a chance to [immerse ourselves in] an art exhibition to experience the calmness within it, how good would it be!” he said.
The exhibition is open to the public from May 1 to 19. It is a collaboration between Poon and Sands China Ltd.
At the end of the interview, Poon told the Times that he has been shunning the old-school style of Chinese painting, not because it has no aesthetic value, but because the new art form has more weight to appeal to and engage the youth.
This shows precisely how Poon understands the needs of today’s viewer and is willing to adapt and construct one of the most affecting and resonant artworks to guide spectators through an artistic and spiritual journey.
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