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Intimate Portrait
#NoPainNoFilterYung Chung Kong
Your paintings mostly have soft tones and a blending of various colors in the brushstrokes. Visually, it appears as if the landscape is being viewed through a thin veil, creating a sense of vagueness and beauty. Is there a reason behind this presentation technique? Were you inspired by something in particular?
I see this technique as an accidental outcome during the process of painting. The haziness is created through successive layers of modification. In the early stages of painting, I rarely rely on reference materials or sketches to preserve intentional uncertainty. As a result, the colours, brushstrokes and composition of the piece are continuously altered throughout the painting process. My creations are mostly based on my own memories and impressions, so this technique is analogous to how memories and impressions are constantly overlaid and obscured.
Are you mostly inspired by local or foreign landscapes?
The landscapes in my paintings are a fusion of my memories of this city and impressions of wilderness. After laying out the composition of my painting, I have a habit of wandering the streets, collecting visual information that I then incorporate into it. Therefore, the buildings and objects depicted in my paintings can be said to have derived locally.
Landscape and animals seem to be predominant subjects and we rarely see people in your paintings. Any particular reason for that?
I see my artworks as capturing a fleeting moment within a particular time frame, and it just happened that moment was devoid of people. Even if they do not appear in the composition, the arrangement of landscapes and objects can indirectly depict the presence of people. The focus of most of my works is on the places where people exist rather than on their activities.
The landscapes you depict are vast and expansive, and at first glance, they have a touch of surrealism. Are they real places that exist?
Visually they are a mixture of multiple scenes and imagination, and the way objects are arranged in them is often surreal. They can be described as collaged and transformed sceneries, where most of the time the viewer may sense something familiar but cannot point their finger at anything real.
We are at the start of a new year. Are you looking for change in your creative pursuits?
I am still gaining experience as an artist. In the past I have often pursued change by simply switching to a new form, and perhaps in the process had neglected to preserve valuable techniques. I aspire to focus on nurturing my own creativity and letting its focus evolve naturally with time.
