Campus Digest

Visual Arts scholar and alumna each gain international recognition

04 Sep 2015

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Dr Ho Siu-kee develops a new piece for his "Aureola" series during the Bellagio Center Residency. The grotto is set within the Center, blending into its gorgeous gardenscape.
Miss Hui Hoi-kiu (left) receives the 2015 New Art Wave International Artist Silver award.

 

Dr Ho Siu-kee, Associate Professor of the Academy of Visual Arts (AVA), was selected by the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency Programme to work on his creative series entitled Aureola in the Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy from mid-August to mid-September 2015.

Aureola is a series of wearable sculptures using the symbol of the halo to depict the limitation of the human body and the sublimation of the human mind. Dr Ho started working on this series a few years ago. He has created over 10 pieces of work with reference to the use of halos in Eastern art.

Dr Ho is further expanding this theme by exploring its use within Western (European) art during his stay in Italy. Aureola (or halo) is a universal symbol that appears in both Eastern and Western cultures. It has been used widely throughout human history, appearing in religious art of Buddhism in India and China as well as Catholicism and Christianity in Europe. Dr Ho aims to take a step further by exploring this motif and gaining insights from cross-cultural exchange with other artists and academics during his residency.

Meanwhile, Miss Hui Hoi-kiu, alumna of the Academy of Visual Arts, received the 2015 New Art Wave International Artist Silver award at the 2015 New Art Wave Expo held from 28-30 August 2015 for her graduating work entitled Blue and White Facial Tissues. One hundred finalists were selected from over 2,000 art work submissions produced by 328 artists from around the world. Among the finalists, 13 artists were students or alumni of AVA.

Miss Hui worked with facial tissues, which is considered a disposable, ordinary and everyday object. Her work superimposes various traditional patterns of precious Chinese blue-and-white porcelain on ordinary facial tissues. Miss Hui tried to redefine the value of facial tissues by highlighting the ambiguity between fine art and “non-art”. Through her work, Miss Hui transformed the nature of functional daily necessities, with the aim of questioning the general perception of art in society.

Miss Hui currently studies at China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Her work Blue and White Facial Tissues was showcased at the 2014 AVA graduation exhibition.