Local artists showcase works in Japan to build cultural bridge

Five Macau artists, Cai Guo Jie, Eric Fok, Leong Chi Hou, Season Lao and Wong Ka Long, were a part of a group exhibition called “Macau Contemporary – New generation artists” which took place in Tokyo from November 13 until November 19. The exhibition aimed to bring Macau’s art works to the Japanese community for them to understand more about the region.

The artists aimed at introducing some popular artworks from Macau to Japanese people, thus allowing them to become acquainted with Macau from different perspectives, through the artists’ unique worldviews and self-identification.

The exhibition was organized by the Macau Visual Art Students Zone and sponsored by the Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau.

Interviewed by the Times, one of the participating artists, Wong Ka Long, said that the exhibition was organized to assist in the “gathering of people of the same age who are relatively proactive exhibiting their art in Japan, as well as to let Japan learn about Macau’s contemporary art.”

“These artists have their own stances explaining Macau’s cultural aspects,” said Wong. When addressing the story of their journey to Japan, Wong gave the credit for the initiative to artist Season Lao, who was born in Macau and is now based in Hokkaido, Japan.

According to Wong, two years ago, Season Lao first had the idea of introducing Macau art and artists to Japan.

“As we all know, in Japan, there are not too many references about Macau. Even if they exist, they are only tourism references,” explained Wong. “Japan […] has its firm stance, not only regarding exhibitions but also regarding foreign culture.”

When asked whether the Japanese community embraced their Macau art, Wong said that “it was very interesting.”

“The local friends who have interest in Macau, and especially those who have visited Macau, would pay a special visit to our exhibition. There, they would talk to us about the exhibition and about their experience in Macau,” said Wong, adding “Japanese friends from the cultural sector in Japan would also describe the exhibition from an artistic perspective.”

Each participating artist has their own educational and cultural background, which makes the works a unique style of Western and Eastern cultures.

Cai Guo Jie’s watercolors emphasize his free-style brushstroke, full-blown and full of vivid colors. However complete diversity can be seen amid the styles of young artists Eric Fok and Leong Chi Hou; the former’s work consists of nautical maps drawn in an ancient Western style, while the latter focuses on studying neo-orientalism to draw acrylic paintings by using and experimenting wtih different new media.

Season Lao, the Macau artist living in Japan whose initiative created the exhibition, created snow sceneries of Hokkaido, through which he captured the beauty of pure white.

Wong Ka Long combines cultural and military aspects to create a series of helmet drawings in blue and white colors.

When explaining the exhibition to the Times, Wong indicated that the artists brought a storyline created by their various artworks to depict Macau’s history from the age of discoveries until the age of Macau’s gaming liberalization.

The artists also posed a question regarding Macau’s future and how it will be marked by a dominating gaming industry.

Wong noted that he, personally, does not prioritize choosing places where he wants to take his art, but he focuses on explaining his artwork to his audiences.

“I mainly focus on whether I depict what I want to say clearly. If I cannot pass forward this idea, and then I go publishing my work, then it will create a bad impression of Macau,” said Wong.

Looking into the future, Wong said that the he hopes these young artists will show the ability to have a role in the history of Macau’s art. “We hope that these enthusiastic and active Macau artists can truly use the experience of the age of discoveries,” he said.