Ling U
Ling U
Ling U
Ling U
Ling U
STEP BY STEP
Student Exhibition of VIS3298 Studio Practice with Artist-in-Residence, Ms Yan Yan MAK
Exhibition catalogue and exhibition documentation edited by artist-in-residence, Ms Yan Yan MAK:
JUST ME
Storyteller: Ball Ball LAU
Something about "emotion".
Regardless of the time, places, people, events, it can be expressed in numerous ways.
Yet all of these unrestrained emotions have one thing in common, which they used to be praised, echoed; yet those heaviest and heartbreaking, are eventually abandoned.
I used to pick up my camera, capture the moments, transform my stories into pieces of memory, and keep them in a frame. If you were to search my stories, it depended on your own enlightenment.
This time, I stand in front of the camera - I became the one living in the frame. Pieces of myself are directly presented under your nose. I want to know, will these emotions also be glorified, then abandoned?
It doesn't matter,
if you understand, or not,
if you are offended,
or touched.
It doesn't matter.
Everything hurts, and you only got yourself to depend on.
LOST IN FOREST
Storyteller: Bear KONG
Tired of the life full of slander, tired of being treated as the object of mockery, tired of the city's hustle and bustle.
I want to scream, cry, or even hurt myself, but everyone around me assumes that there is no problem, nor is it miserable enough to be discovered.
I was scared, so scared that I was shivering while hiding in the corner; very anxious, so worried that my heartbeat and breathing accelerated; very upset, so worried that I gotta proof alive by cutting my arms with two swords.
I want to draw a protective cover to isolate myself from the world.
So a thought came up, wanting to escape from this world.
Walking into the forest, which is the origin of human beings and the end of life; self-protection and self-liberation.
CHRISTMAS CAKE
Storyteller: Cindy TSUI
In the year of high school graduation, a classmate wrote in my memorial book, "Don't forget your original intention; you can always have it."
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Sticking to the ideal for a long time, because of the rough and helpless life, our initial passion surging gradually burned out as time goes by.
While lamenting, the noisy real life makes it difficult for us to calm down and listen to our true heart.
On the contrary, we can't judge our own values, follow other people's ideas and lose ourselves, go against our heart, and even more sad is that we mistakenly think walking through your own life is like the illusion of consumption given by a discounted Christmas cake.
GAMLBLING
Storyteller: Cyrus YIP
Gambling exists in every minute and every second. It is not only literal gambling about money, but also about chance in life.
Here, I present it by features of marriage. Before I tell more, I have to say gambling is so abrupt when it presents to us. It may be hidden in the leaves, it may be hidden behind the moon, or you may find its presence in the lines of your palm. It is everywhere, and you can only feel it but not touch it, see it.
This composition may seem confusing for you. Various objects, colors, and structures seem difficult to get along with each other. In real life, different people have different interpretations, and these interpretations are based on each specific experience, it seems random, but it has a big background. They are originally meaningless things, only when they are given meaning, they have the opportunity to show off and be signifiers.
Please kindly think about it, what you can find in the composition relate to your life, and how you relate all the elements in the painting to the marriage. Think about not only the should-be objects related to the marriage, but also the societal conditions that determine our state of spirit.
CAMPING
Storyteller: Gloria LAU
“Camping” is an installation with real camping equipment and four drawings. It is a story about a girl’s first experience of camping on the beach.
In the Mid-Autumn Festival, a girl joined camping with her friends on the beach. As a girl who lives in a concrete jungle, it was her first time to get a closer relationship with the natural environment. She tried a lot of novel things, such as setting up a campfire and getting water from the creek.
At night, she sat on the beach alone. She listened to the sound of the sea waves crashing to the beach. She looked at the moon and the environment around her. Then, she started to observe the changes in them. She suddenly realized that even the moon, the sea, the trees, and the stars are changeable and might disappear anytime.
Ever since then, she understood that she should live in the moment and try more new things.
Some may say that you should plan your life very well in order to achieve “success.” However, we cannot ensure things will stick to the plan and never change. Even if we achieve “success,” as people mentioned, what can we get? Our life journey is short and invaluable. Why don’t we live in the moment and do something to make us feel happy, even if it is considered as meaningless.
ROOMS
Storyteller: Helen LAU
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Dancing freely when embracing happiness, escaping from the world when struggling in the sadness. I am looking for a shelter, which is also an exit for my emotions, even though a private space is luxurious in this city.
Annoyance is triggered by the crowdedness. Three generations are packed in the same room. She muttered to herself, immersing herself in an imaginary world, she played the old school music, driving away from the tiredness of work, and I just thirst for silence.
I escape from one space to another, to deal with this situation.
Every generation, or every person, has his/her life trajectory, and it is difficult to run in barely. Although the private space is extravagant, what I am pursuing is not just a bed or a desk, which is the carrier of one’s mental health.
HERE COMES THE SUN
Storyteller: James LEE
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In this work, you will see: bad drawing skills, hideous characters, simple lines, cringy dialogues, and a very boring plot; if you see any flaws, please do not be surprised as this is the first-ever flip-book I have ever made! Let me tell you my story.
This is a story from a boy, a boy who had a dream, a boy who chases for his dream to become a fireman, and this journey is not easy at all; he had to overcome different challenges…
How about you? What’s your dream? Have you ever wanted to give up on it? I have a dream, just like everyone else, I have always wanted to give up too. But are you sure you are going to give up your dream after all this time?
Hey, it’s all right to take a rest. I’m with you now, and now you are with me. Remember, you are not alone in this journey.
“Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.”
Thank you again, for spending your time to appreciate my work.
May your dream come true.
我的世界是黑白色的，沒有戰爭，沒有邪惡﹐是一個充滿夢想的地方，是一個非常好的世界，很希望觀眾能進入我的世界。
UNHAPPY CORNER
Storyteller: Kammy YEUNG
Once upon a time, it was the Unhappy Corner of Kammy. Every single night, she spent her time drinking, smoking, and thinking alone at the Corner.
Until one day, it became the Corner of 3 people.
Every night, they shared the beer.
Every night, they shared the moon.
Every night, they shared a lot of things, including those darkest thoughts
that they kept inside.
However, no one can stop time; 2 of them have to go.
“Can you take me too?”
“Everyone leaves, just a matter of when. You will leave as well, my friend.”
“You can keep the memory in your mind.”
After that, Kammy would think of the Unhappy Corner whenever the song is played, even though the Corner no longer exists. Although that should be the most frustrating time, she still feels happy having 2 friends to share.
That was the most unhappy and happiest days in Kammy’s life.
CHERRY DOESN'T KNOW
Storyteller: Kaycee LI
"Cherry Doesn't Know" is Cherry's diary, recording the entire process of Cherry' donating' her eggs in mainland China's black market. Cherry is my fictional character, an 18 years old girl who lives in Mainland China. We are both skint. Cherry chose to risk her life to make a quick buck, but I wouldn't.
Mainland law prohibits compensating women for their eggs. Yet, women can receive the 'compensation' of 'donating' their eggs in the black market. The diary is written in the firstperson narrative, and it is my creation combining some real cases from the news, which means all of it happens in real life. The victims we know from the news encountered the same situation mentioned in this diary.
Egg donation was on my to-do list, but I deleted it. Thanks to the place I live where I can know the risks and side effects of egg-retrieval through the internet. However, many girls weren't privy to this surgery's potential risks because of a lack of knowledge, just like Cherry. They risk their life and retrieve their eggs in mainland China's black market for money or kindness, causing irreparable harm to their bodies.
I did thorough research on it even though I didn't undergo this surgery personally. I truly feel the victims' helplessness, anger, and sorrow. As a woman, I think it is a must to let other women know the condition and dangers of this surgery, especially if egg-retrieval is prohibited in your country.
LOVE
Storyteller: Kayin LAU
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Everyone will have a low ebb.
Facing it alone,
nothing is guaranteed,
a realistic and cruel world,
helpless and impotent.
Unintentionally,
we are stuck in a whirlpool called the past again and again,
lost our direction.
We seem to be no longer ourselves,
being devastated again and again,
losing oneself, losing hope for the world.
Gradually you will discover, glance back again,
many people and things are only fleeting fireworks.
No matter how long the night is, the dawn will always arrive.
Everyone will have a low ebb.
When everyone is lonely,
you are no longer alone,
because you still have each other.
Together become each other's hope,
each other's light.
We all reached this point like this.
MEMO
Storyteller: Natalie HO
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Once upon a time, a girl lived in a darkling world; the cage was the place she returned, darkness was her companion.
Every time she wanted to run away from this world, she never found an exit; there was always a power to force her into the abyss. Fear. No one knows.
Until one day, a light irradiated the girl, so she caught it up. Then the light led her to walk through the dark and grey world and walk to the bright world. In there, the darkness and fear inside her heart were driven away.
She looked to the light. It was an everlasting love.
The world is dark, but there is always a light waiting for you.
UNDER THE WATER
Storyteller: Natasha SIT
"Under the water" is presented in 3 paintings, and they represent 3 stages of me finding myself.
Going through those 3 stages was not easy, the process was like drowning in a deep-sea every day, almost suffocating by everything around me. As the ups and downs in life remind me of the waves that come and go, I wanted to tell you my story about my journey of searching myself like a fish finds where it belongs.
At first, I was suffocating, noticing this world around was such a disappointment. Then, as it goes on, I shut myself behind the world, trying to live the best I can. As times pass by, the world did not change for a bit, but I have changed.
I think growing up is a challenging process. I mean by it's not essential whether you have become great or successful, more important is that you find your happiness and tenderness. Because I believe as you grow, there are no doubts for pain and loss, this world is not a wishing factory, sad but true.
However, one thing you could do is become a kind and tender person, embrace the imperfections of this world.
最好的成長，是變得越來越溫柔，對世界越來越寬容、不朽。
SMALL MATTERS
Storyteller: Peggy LAU
My work, "Small Matters", it's a story about my daily life.
I like to be busy.
My time always is consumed by schooling, working, socializing, etc.
I make all my effort to achieve better or more.
"Why are you pushing yourself so much?” I don't know either.
Maybe I don't like to be worthless.
Maybe I don't like to be lonely.
Maybe I just want to find the answer to my own existence.
Just, I don't feel happy anymore.
The world is combined with a lot of small things.
We like a little gear or puzzle,
that we all just tiny pieces of the world.
I am wondering, if I disappear, will it be any different?
Obviously, the answer is no.
Life goes on and on.
It is hard to be special all the time.
Being an ordinary one is a normal one thing for us.
Doing the same thing day by day. Your heart is slowly losing.
How dare we put ourselves as important or special?
However, in my work, I wanna tell you to love yourself
and accept your existence in this world.
You may be normal, dull, even useless. Who cares?
Remember, you are unreplaceable.
Embracing your own imperfection cause it is your original look.
CLOUDS
Storyteller: Stella SHENG
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It is said that
when the older people here reach an uncertain age,
they will move to the clouds.
Go to the end of the sea,
where reachable clouds are floating in the air.
Groups of elders, flying with the clouds,
from the end of the sea to another "city".
The little girl's grandfather moved away silently.
So, with her dismay and obsession,
she embarked on the journey of finding her grandpa and
wishing to say the last goodbye...
When you look at the sky,
the clouds in front of you may not just clouds.
What is the cloud?
It could be
the subjective and emotional attachment of one's own.
Bravely say goodbye to those who left.
After all, they are always there.