Unlike many children who dream of owning a cat or dog, painter Joey Leung Ka-yin grew up with a pet chicken called Jiu Jiu, named after the sounds it made. Today, she still adores all creatures as evidenced by her work, where viewers will be able to spot everything from a gigantic rat and two loving swans, to an army of frogs and a talking bird. But these days, her whimsical creations are more muted.
Thirty-four-year-old Leung's artwork has matured since her last solo exhibition three years ago. While her signature surreal world of female nudes and human-like animals remains, the chaotic illustrations and fragmented inscriptions are gone. Her newer paintings project more depth. In the past, Leung meticulously used pens and coloured pencils on rice paper to create her fantastical scenes. Now she occasionally adds Chinese pigment, filling the background with swathes of smoky colour to create a deeper atmosphere.
'Since her last show you can see the development and maturity of her work,' says Henry Au-yeung, director of Grotto Fine Art who is presenting Leung's latest show, Cloudy Fairy Tales. 'This time the works are more painterly rather than a drawing or cartoon. Her influence has been from Japanese comics and Chinese Literati painting. She has blended the two elements seamlessly together into one coherent composition.'
Leung explains her new mixed-media works are a mixture of Chinese painting and comics - they take on a dreamy, sultry nature within her weird and wonderful land of fairy tales and Chinese folklore.
'You can see a story in each painting because I have many things that I want to express. I convey these thoughts to people not by using my mouth, but with the inscriptions and the figures in my work,' she says.
Nearly all of Leung's work features an often naked girl with short black hair. 'I'm not interested in drawing men; I like to draw the female figure because it's elegant and beautiful,' says the former master of fine arts student from Chinese University.