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Damon Tong | drinktea

Drink Tea (Tai On), Custom Design Stickers and Acrylic on Panel, 40 x 60cm, 2015

Art Projects Gallery is delighted to present Hong Kong artist, Damon Tong’s solo exhibition titled “drinktea”. “drinktea” serves as a personal record of Tong that is also a long-time username of the artist.

Tong’s works, using the unconventional medium of custom-made stickers, are visually striking not only by the liberal use colours, but also by the simple cryptic messages they carry. Tong’s original inspiration of using the stickers came from the “Made in China” stickers that mark the manufactured goods coming out of China’s booming factories.

The artist’s works can be appreciated at two levels - first from large eye-catching messages so reflective of Hong Kong’s cityscape of neon signage, billboards, pamphlets, flyers, that are contributing to the hectic pace and information overload of the everyday life and second, the often humorous and ironical fine prints on the very stickers that compose the artworks. The paradox and tensions as a result of the witty juxtaposition of the texts stimulate deeper reflections about Tong’s works.

Tong deliberately uses common phrases from his daily life in Hong Kong that are so deeply ingrained into the social psyche to the point of being clichés. This focus on repetition and the mundane is an important aspect of Tong’s practice, for the artist, this is where the common becomes anonymous. The duality of the messages in Tong’s works reflect the complexity of the issues faced by the people of Hong Kong, including the city’s identity, culture and values.

Born in Hong Kong in 1979, Damon Tong received his Bachelor of Art degree in Fine Art from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (co-presented with the Hong Kong Art School) in 2008 and his Master of Visual Arts from the Hong Kong Baptist University in 2013. He is also a member of Rental United, an artist trio established in 2009, which is known for their participatory practices.


藝途畫廊榮幸呈獻香港藝術家唐偉傑個展《drinktea》。“drinktea”(飲茶) 是唐氏的網名,承載著偉傑的動態記錄。

偉傑的作品用上大量訂製貼紙這非主流的創作媒界 。密密麻麻的貼紙,視覺上著實引人注目,不單因其運用色彩的強烈,亦因它附帶的隱密訊息。唐氏採用貼紙的靈感源於中國蓬勃發展的製造業所影響, 在日常生活中,隨處可見中國製造成品都貼上“made in china”(中國製造)的貼紙。

藝術家的作品特別之處是它們可以以兩個層面來欣賞。作品乍看之下,是搶眼的大型字句所帶來的訊息,有如香港城市景觀霓虹燈招牌、廣告牌、宣傳册子、傳單等,反映了港人日常生活環境的資訊超載和忙碌步伐。只要放慢腳步,近距離觀賞作品,就可以看到作品是以成千上萬的貼紙所組成,每張貼紙印著的字眼卻往往和主體文字互相諷刺。透過機智幽默的文字並列,呈現詼諧、矛盾同時帶出強烈的對抗性。這種張力正是偉傑的作品引人作更深層思考的地方。

偉傑特意選用一些香港日常生活中常見的詞組,這些詞組往往在港人心中根深蒂固,甚至有點陳腔濫調。重複和庸俗平凡均是偉傑作品的重要主題,他認為這正是個體融入平凡群體的呈現。作品所帶出的雙重訊息,反映了香港人們所面對的複雜問題,包括城市身份、文化和價值觀。

一九七九年香港出生,唐偉傑在2008年取得澳洲皇家墨爾本理工大學藝術文學士(與香港藝術學院合辦),並於2013年取得香港浸會大學視覺藝術碩士學位。他也是「夾租團」成員之一,一個成立於2009年的藝術家三人組合,主要從事參與性的創作。

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