Chinese ink used to be widely taught and practised in local schools. Not any more. 'When we were young, writing out characters using a Chinese brush was a form of classroom punishment,' says Chan Shing-kau, 54. 'It was one way to expose kids to the medium. Now, even that opportunity has disappeared.'
Chan is among the older generation of ink artists who worry that the centuries-old medium is in danger of extinction in Hong Kong. They say young local artists today prefer installation, photography and video to Chinese ink, and that a continual lack of education in the art form will see the end of it.
'I find that a shame, given that Hong Kong has all the conditions that can take this art form forward and make it our own,' says 72-year-old artist Chu Hing-wah.
An exhibition of traditional and contemporary works opening this Friday will demonstrate how the art form has evolved, show-casing the works of 35 Chinese ink artists from the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas.
The New Face of Ink Paintings, organised by Sino Group, also features works by the likes of Liu Kuosung, Wucius Wong, Zhou Lu-yun and Gao Xingjian, and includes a symposium with author and art director at the Shenzhen Museum of Art Lu Hong, Hong Kong Museum of Art chief curator Tang Hoi-chiu, and Ink Society chair Alice King.
'With the integration of cultures from the east and west, Hong Kong is nurturing the development of modern ink painting,' according to the exhibition notes.