rose

From physical boundaries to personal boundaries, social constructs to cultural expectations, boundaries exist in many forms in all of our lives. My exhibition explores the boundaries and limitations I’ve witnessed and experienced in my life. My exploration began with observing the housing crisis in Hong Kong, which interested me because of its connection to privilege and how it manifests in architecture, a subject I want to study. Recognising how inequality existed in housing culminated in my painting House Arrest. My first project revealed to me that space can create both emotional and physical boundaries, which led me to examine how boundaries manifested in my own life. Through this exhibition, I hope to document a journey of self-reflection while articulating experiences that viewers can hopefully relate to and find solace in.

As I developed my artworks, a motif of colour emerged. Many of my paintings experiment with creating contrast and tension with colour. Colour represents different things in each of my pieces, although they all describe an intangible part of my identity – an element of truth that I want to awaken and cultivate. In every piece, all of these colours are met with an external or internal boundary, whether it’s familial expectations in Stuck and Farewell, or a clashing cultural identity in Torn Between Cultures, that form an obstacle to fully knowing myself.

In House Arrest, Languish, and Everyday, a monochromatic palette is used in contrast to colour to represent the discrepancy between social boundaries and the individual in its truest form. In both pieces, the elements painted in black and white depict what broader society creates and limits for us. In Everyday, this is a rigid routine, in Languish, this is pandemic restrictions, and in House Arrest, this is small living spaces. The elements painted in colour are what we intrinsically crave but are unable or afraid to make a reality due to these social boundaries.

Stuck and Farewell are more personal, describing realities that have restricted my ability to find creative freedom and fulfilment. The coloured swirls in these two paintings are its own entity, representing my creativity and love for the arts. In this case, the boundary isn’t created by society, rather by beliefs that I have internalised and allowed to influence an ideal of who I should be. In Adaptability, colour is integrated within the subjects of the painting, illustrating how my introversion is a subconscious boundary to adapting to change.

Farewell is the only piece created in a different medium and the only piece that depicts myself. I was intuitively drawn to using a digital medium but wasn’t sure why. Upon reflection, I was confronted with the reality that the only way I am able to observe myself is through a secondary lens, such as through a photograph or mirror. I realised that I had trouble viewing, and therefore, depicting myself directly, which is why this piece helped me see that I struggle to see myself the way I am. Even though I was unaware of this in the creation process, Farewell, in addition to depicting my struggles with letting go of the past, also reflects a more profound physical boundary to fully knowing who I am.

Despite the different boundaries explored through my paintings, all forms of boundaries force us to adapt, and usually, this means making ourselves smaller. My work is strategically displayed in small rooms so that when viewers walk through the exhibition, they are confined within a small space, which may evoke feelings of discomfort and claustrophobia. Visually, I want viewers to see the tension in my work. As they are left to feel physically confined, they can experience the symbolism of colour as it’s the only element in the physical and visual space that communicates a liberation from boundaries. At the same time, I want my exhibition to be a testament to breaking boundaries, because despite the creative boundaries that have impeded my self expression, I was able to reflect on these experiences and articulate them through art.