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Vivian Chen

Tsuen Wan Town Hall
Today to August 27
Hanison Lau Hok-shing  welcomes audiences to explore  his most intimate and private abode, his study, in his latest exhibition Soulful Landscape Within Qi Quan Zhai. The solo show of hand-carved wood stationery and decorations is part of the Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme.
'The owner's emotions, interests and aspirations can be reflected in the study's design and decoration, stationery used and other private collections,' Lau says. 'My study in Western where I do most of my works has no water supply so  I named it qi quan (beg for spring).'
The exhibition features 28 small wood sculptures  of the tools of Chinese calligraphy and  four larger installations  resembling Chinese garden decorations. The works are made from wooden wine boxes Lau picked up from  refuse stations. 'They are free materials  [and] recycling them this way is  environmentally friendly.'
Lau stacks, then glues the wooden piles before chiselling holes and cracks  to imitate those found in rocks used in traditional Chinese gardens.
'Wood and rocks are natural materials,' he says. 'I've transformed wood into rocks through man-made artworks. It shows the  blurred distinction between nature and human efforts.'
Lau also uses organic resources such as sticks, modelling grass powder and Chinese paints to make them look natural.  'My works have actual functions and aesthetic value,' he says. Fragrance is a  fluorescent-painted wood sculpture on a metal stand resembling  typical rocks in a Chinese garden.  It is also a scent burner:  the fragrance comes out of the cracks and holes in the sculpture.
Lau, 29,  received his bachelor's degree in 2005 (and his master's two years later) in fine art at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University.  He is  influenced by traditional Chinese culture and history, and his interest in Chinese painting, Cantonese opera and  the guqin (the seven-string Chinese musical instrument) is evident in his art.
'The 28 pieces  reflect my affection for delicate stationery from the Ming and Qing dynasties. I've always wanted  them since I was young but  antiques are too expensive  so I decided to make some myself. People nowadays have little emotional attachment to their possessions whereas ancient scholars cherished their  [tools]. The show reminds people to value what they already have,' Lau says.
The Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme was launched by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department in 2000. It selects works by local visual artists  and showcases them in various  venues. The scheme has featured more than 60 solo and joint exhibitions by 29 local artists and three art groups in its aim to bring the arts closer to the community.
Exhibition Gallery, 72 Tai Ho Road, Tsuen Wan, free. Inquiries: 3101 2713



Soulful Landscape Within Qi Quan Zhai