Preserving ancient beauty: One of Hong Kong's last masters of porcelain painting, a 2,000-year-old art
Eighty-seven-year-old Lee Siu-man came to Hong Kong in 1949 and has seen a once flourishing industry dwindle. He's still painting, though, and teaching fellow old folk the art
The Kennedy Town flat that Lee Siu-man shares with his wife is modest. The real treasures are up on the walls - delicate depictions of beautiful Chinese women in elaborate silk robes playing the flute, or wild horses prancing in a grassland.
WATCH: Lee Siu-man at work
Originally from Chaozhou, Guangdong, the 87-year-old has been practicing the art of porcelain painting since his late teens. While he liked to draw, he got into this trade more out of necessity than interest. These days, Lee is one of the last masters of the art of porcelain painting still practising in Hong Kong. His recent exhibition at the PMQ art space in Central showed his decades of dedication to the craft.
Watching Lee paint a lotus flower and leaves on a plate shows not only his technical skill in using the right colours and the need for precision in his strokes, but also his artistic talent. He first carefully draws outlines with a fine brush before filling them in with what look like brilliant glazes that will later change colour in the firing process.