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A Fond Farewell

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Throughout October, local artist Eric Fok unveiled his latest exhibition entitled Before Departure at AFA – Art For All Macau at Tak Chun Art Garden, displaying 12 of his works with a variety of themes drawn on canvas, and also presented in back-lit old wooden cases, thus marking his farewell from Macau as he moves to Taiwan to study a PhD in Art.
 
In this exhibition, the artist not only featured new works, but also some works from previous collections.
 
“This exhibition is intended to be like my diary before departure. I hope to keep some records, and maybe when I come back to have a different feeling or introspection,” Eric explains.
 
Over the past 18 months Eric has felt a strong need to draw on a daily basis. His subtle observations of the social changes during the pandemic and some new explorations in his artistic research are presented in his new pieces.
 
“Eric started a few years ago with the theme Paradise, so some of the works in the exhibition were part of this series,” notes curator of the exhibition Andre Liu. “But there were also works made recently during the period he has been in Macau, locked away and isolated like the rest of us.  He worked every day trying to develop some new themes.”
 
Eric draws with technical pens, and his highly detailed, meticulous brushwork integrates the style of ancient maps together with new constructions – a combination of tradition and modernity.
 
“The pen is my language, my mouth, my companion, my comrade in arms,” he affirms.
 
“Eric’s style is a bit like old forged maps. His drawings are just like an engraving from the Renaissance period,” notes the curator.  “It is somewhat surreal and he plays with both historical and modern elements as he portrays the history and changes in Macau.”
 
The artist further explains: “Macau has changed a lot. Apart from buildings, casinos and LRT, the biggest change has been in people’s values, as they are faced with great temptation, money and wealth.  I do want to show these changes, but more importantly, just to record the present city and talk about the city through my paintings.”
 
Despite his young age, the 31-year-old artist has made significant contributions to the art scene in Macau, having participated in many exhibitions and even been commissioned to do works for some of the major integrated resorts.  Two of Eric’s pieces 1557- Carrack and Paradisus 1557 are on display at MGM Cotai, and recently his latest pieces Paradise – Grand Lisboa Palace and Paradise – Ships on the Oriental Coast were unveiled at the newly opened Grand Lisboa Palace. 
 
“It’s a rare opportunity to put my work in such a good place, to become part of the building, and hopefully the work will survive when I’m old and even gone,” he says.
 
A graduate from the Macao Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Visual Arts, Eric was the first Macau artist invited to participate in the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition and his works were published in the Illustrated Exhibition – Bologna Children’s Book Fair series that toured major cities around the world. He also designed the official poster image for The Script Road – Macau Literary Festival in 2017. The artist considers Wong Ka Long, Luís de Camões, Jao Tsung-I and Matteo Ricci as his greatest sources of inspiration.
 
“I think that this was a transitional show of change before moving to Taiwan, because Eric did his master’s degree in the Fine Arts Department at National Taiwan University of Arts in 2019, and now he’s leaving again for the same place to get his PhD,” notes Andre. 
On his decision to move to Taiwan at this point in his career, Eric comments: “There are many great bookstores there, large libraries and nourishing art.  Macau is also a good place, but I hope to get out of my comfort zone and enrich my life.”
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