The very unique world of Mr Red
It is very easy to associate Mr Red with his graphic novels, which are characterised by colourful illustrations and simple text. In person, the 33-year-old bespectacled Taiwanese artist comes across as boyish, happy, content and imaginative. These are also the qualities that many of his works possess.
To display his unique world of pastel colours and comic characters to Hong Kong audiences, Mr Red is staging an exhibition Hey, Cheers! at the Hong Kong Arts Centre this month. The exhibition showcases a wide variety of illustrations, including watercolour paintings, crayon drawings and animations.
'Painting is a means for me to express my ideas,' Mr Red said. 'But there are also better ways for expression, such as through text and moving images ... There will be a chemical effect if these things combine together.'
When you enter the gallery you will be greeted by not only an array of colourful illustrations, but also explanatory text hand-written on the walls alongside the paintings. Looking up from the gallery you will see an animation of stunning visuals projected on the wall.
Among the various works are two paintings of seaviews inspired by the Twenty Love Poems (1924) of Chilean Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda. It is not surprising that we can find poetry in Mr Red's paintings, as the artist is determined to close the gap between literature and painting.
'He [Neruda] uses nature as a metaphor for desires in a love relationship,' explained Mr Red, who spent a week on the coast of Taiwan studying Neruda's poems. 'It could be a bright day, but then the dark clouds came and probably in three minutes it was pouring. It was then that I understood his poems.'
Apart from poetry, aliens are a common theme in Mr Red's exhibited works. In the paintings, aliens are cute creatures that appear to be peaceful and content. 'I believe this world is definitely not just what you have seen ... There are aspects that you cannot see,' said Mr Red, who claimed that he first saw a UFO when he was a Primary Four schoolboy.
'Don't think of yourself as too great. Humans are not the greatest living beings.'
While we may not be the most intelligent living beings, we can still be the happiest when we are in our youth - a period described by Mr Red as 'worry-free' because we 'know about nothing'.
Downstairs in the gallery, you will come across a series of drawings that colourfully showcase some segments of the artist's adolescent life. The child-like drawings show that these works come right from the artist's heart.
'I hope the exhibition can let young audiences know that it is not difficult to make art. Just pick up your pen. You don't have to draw or write well to create. Just do it when you want to create,' Mr Red said.
Hey, Cheers! runs until July 25 at the Pao Gallery of the Hong Kong Arts Centre from 10am to 8pm. Admission is $30 (adults) and $20 (students).
