Students take their artworks to the masses
For Remi Leclerc, a design professor, ArtAlive@Park is an excellent chance for his students to interact with the public through their artworks.
'Art is not the property of the artist. People see art for themselves,' Leclerc said. 'The community arts project allows more people to read artists' works.'
Aiming to bring art closer to the public, the Art Promotion Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department organised the ArtAlive@Park in time for Christmas. Artworks are on display in the Hong Kong, Tuen Mun, Kowloon and Sha Tin parks until February 28.
Among the institutions taking part are the Academy of Visual Arts at Baptist University, the department of fine arts at Chinese University, the school of design at Polytechnic University, and the faculty of architecture at the University of Hong Kong.
'This has been a breakthrough for us; we came up with a lot of new themes,' Chinese University fine arts graduate Tang Kwok-hin said.
One of the exhibits features someone dressed as an ape whose behaviour changes over time.
Leclerc, leader of the PolyPlay Lab at Polytechnic University, said working on the government-funded public project had been a reflective exercise for students. 'The preparation process for the exhibition has been very interesting for both the students and myself. On the one hand, we would like to keep political messages as to-the-point as possible. On the other hand, we have to avoid overtly attacking certain parties.'
The work of students and graduates from Polytechnic University are on show in Kowloon Park, with a theme of environmental protection. They tackle issues from food chain contamination to oil spills.
'This was a special chance for us to present something on a large scale. We had a lot of freedom during the process,' Leung Chung-kin, of Polytechnic University, said.
Leclerc said: 'The artworks are as ironic as they are playful. I really appreciate the intelligence behind the artworks.'
