Vincent Cheang is exhibiting his work in the field of illustration in Macau for the first time. The topic is, of course, music and, specifically, rock and roll. At Creative Macau, the man behind Live Music Association (LMA) will showcase his drawings depicting Kurt Cobain, Stone Temple Pilots and even Daft Punk. In between, there is also room for leather jackets and a video showing his creative process.
Rock and roll and motorbikes. These are the two main topics of the exhibition Vincent Cheang inaugurated at Creative Macau on 11 July. "Highway Star" is the name of the show and is also the name of a Deep Purple song. Music, said Vincent Cheang, best explains the whole concept of the exhibition: it connects rock to motorbikes. In addition to the music, there are also leather jackets designed by the founder of the Live Music Association (LMA) music space on show. The exhibition will run at Creative Macau until August 24.
"Nobody gonna take my car, I'm gonna race it to the ground," are the first two verses of the Deep Purple track, a rock and roll song about cars and motorbikes. The perfect name to christen the exhibition: "It's a rock song, which represents the idea of rock and roll, cars and motorcycles. Highway Star defines the idea of this exhibition, my work on it." "It's a rock classic track that charges our emotions, reminding us of men in leather jackets accelerating on motorbikes and of course the smell of gasoline," a statement from the exhibition reads. "As a musician, it's the music I play in the context of my creation, it's the key to my inspiration," according to the release.
"It is an exhibition of my work, essentially painting and illustration. Also there will be some fashion pieces, my leather jackets," said the musician. "The leather jackets relate to the motard style and the American style," he noted. In total, on display are 17 works of illustration and five leather jackets. At the end of the exhibition the jackets and illustrations will be available for purchase.
Of the 17 illustrations, Cheang emphasizes that they have two themes: "legendary rock stars and motorbikes". The rock stars were selected according to the musician's personal taste: "They are artists and bands that I like." Among them are, for example, Kurt Cobain, former lead singer of Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Prodigy and even Daft Punk. During the exhibition a video projection showing Vincent Cheang at work will be screened.
Vincent Cheang was born in Macau in 1970, worked as a DJ, he had several bands and, in 1995, graduated from the University of Macau in Graphic Design. Since then, despite his deep connection to music, he always continued to draw: "I never stopped drawing, actually."