KWONG KWOK WAI | 1ST PLACE
2025 ABSTRACTS/SEMI-ABSTRACTS COMPETITION

Kwong Kwok Wai was an award-winning journalist in Hong Kong for 30 years, experiencing both Britain’s Colonial rule and Chinese sovereignty which went into effect in 1997. As a reporter, he wrote about the people of Hong Kong and the impact this period has had on their lives.

A lifelong artist, the issues Kwong wrote about began to permeate his art. He began to paint politics and history. In 2018, he left his position as a television news executive producer to devote himself full time to his art practice. Soon his artwork was being exhibited, featured in art publications, and receiving awards. We spoke to Kwong about his work and his use of abstraction and symbolism.

When did you develop your abstract style?

I attended a residency at Vermont Studio Center in 2019 where I met artists who worked with abstract and conceptual approaches. Their works were truly mind-blowing! I had been seeking a way to depict not just what I see, but how I feel, and abstraction made this possible. I’m eager to explore my identity through my unique visual language.

What are you trying to convey in your work with aerial map imagery?

In old aerial photos, I see my memories, past events that happened in my hometown. I see individuals walking in a domain that is not of the present moment yet feels profoundly connected to me. Though the aerial photos capture a time long past, the streets and spaces they depict are the very same that I have walked myself, just at a different point in time.

The streets and houses shown on the maps propel me to construct a place between geographical reality and my personal perceptions. I strive to capture the essence of collective memories through abstraction, a universal language for all people. Technically, I am drawing symbols with brushes upon the canvas. But to me, this process feels akin to digging in the buried landscapes of memory, unearthing the past and giving it new form.

What is the inspiration behind your triptych, “Atlas the Other Shore?”

I’m dedicated to preserving local history and preserving our colonial past from being forgotten. When reading the history of Hong Kong’s port development, I found that dockyards and wharves were the very first major infrastructure built after the colony was ceded. These maritime facilities shaped our city’s physical landscape in a way I could hardly have imagined before delving into the historical accounts.

Hong Kong is an international community. Many of us are part of the generations of emigrants who have sought new lives across the waters. Geographically, we are in the middle of nowhere, connected to the wider world by the vast seas. Because of this, the dockyards and wharves define a core part of our identity, a gateway from which we contemplate crossing the oceans.

What was your artistic process when creating “Atlas the other Shore?”

I usually start with concepts in my painting process, then convert these concepts into symbols. With abstractions suggestive of old places and past events, I try to build up a connection between history and contemporary art.

In this piece, I selected six maps and aerial photographs of specific wharves, dockyards, the customs station, and ship cradles. Each location had special historical significance, which I collaged into two sets of shapes, positioned in opposition to one another. This juxtaposition symbolizes the clash of my Eastern and Western values — a duality of harmony and discord.

I applied Chinese pigments on raw linen as the bottom layer to create an ink wash effect on the coarse, unprocessed fabric through the use of water-soluble paints. On top, I worked with oils to add details generating tension between the shapes and different media.

All artwork © Kwong Kwok Wai, shared with permission.