It is easy to dismiss traditional art forms as no longer valid for today's artists. But an exhibition urges audiences to re-evaluate how they perceive the old and the new.
The Meditation and Narration Contemporary Ink Exhibition, which opens tomorrow at the Cattle Depot Artist Village, is a selection of ink works by a group of young artists from Hong Kong,
Macau, Paris, Tianjin and Shenzhen.
The show is co-presented by the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Ink Society and Artist Commune. It aims to revitalise an art form many people consider to be outdated.
'In this exhibition, we wanted to show young artists' ink work. Traditional ink painting is not suitable for this generation,' said Cheng Yee-man, aka Gum, the co-ordinator of the show.
'In art schools in Hong Kong and on the mainland, it is not compulsory to learn traditional ink painting, and if students do learn traditional styles, they find it difficult to connect to contemporary art.'
The exhibition is an attempt to address the problem, said Gum. 'We wanted young artists to do work that's relevant to them using ink.'