A collection of works by 15 Macau artists is currently on display at Museu Oriente, Lisbon, in a show entitled “Febre”, co-organized by Art for All (AFA) and the Oriente Foundation, with support from the Macau Foundation, to celebrate 15 years of the handover of Macau.
But instead of a 15-year retrospective show, curator José Drummond has chosen to give visibility to young artists under the age of 45, and “show something fresh.”
Among the younger artists, one of the highlights is Ann Hoi, who makes paper sculptures. She has ten paper sculptures in her portfolio, made over the four years since she arrived in Macau from Canada in 2010, where she completed her training at Ontario College of Art and Design.
Each piece can take anywhere from three months to up to a year to develop the technique and complete. First the work is computer designed with 3D animation software. Then from these models, moulds are created. They are printed on paper and assembled like a puzzle, sometimes in different dimensions. CLOSER spoke with Ann Hoi recently about her unique creations.
Macau CLOSER: You studied art in Canada. Was it important to study abroad?
Studying in Canada has changed me deeply. I was fortunate enough to meet the right teachers who taught me to be free and to think freely, to be critical, but non-judgmental, and to be true and authentic to myself.
Did you learn the techniques you use today or did you develop them?
I developed my own techniques. I started when I was at university in Toronto. I started with engraving, but felt it might not be enough, as an artistic language, so I was looking for more. I think sculptural art has a stronger presence. I started with animation, and had a friend who was studying graphic design and animation. The [computer] program that we were using was originally created for animated films and I thought we could start exploring something new and create something different.
How do figures created with 3D animation software become real sculptures?
We make a model on the computer, turn them into moulds, print them on paper and build them. It’s like a puzzle.
What do you want to represent with your sculptures?
I decided to make sculptures in paper because it is something that is connected to my culture. I grew up watching people burn paper sculptures for spiritual reasons, as a ritual offering to the gods. We believe that what we burn here will be transferred to the afterlife. I was interested in the way we instill and impose these emotions and feelings onto an object that we have created, as if we instill life in the things we do.
Is there a spiritual meaning in your work?
Maybe its just that we tend to connect ourselves to certain things we make and do, to the point that we believe they are alive. What I’m trying to say is that they are only about something metaphysical, a thought, a concept, which don’t live in reality. So I make [human] images because it’s something that we are more closely related to.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Mostly, I take these things from my memory, of what happened in the past or things that I want to forget.
Your art seems to provoke strong reactions. Is this good or bad?
I think it’s good. Is that not the point of art, to provoke reactions? I think it is better if they feel frightened, offended, rather than having no reaction at all.
This month Ann Hoi will take part in a new exhibition in Macau, together with 23 other local artists.
‘Macau Scenario – Animamix Biennale 2013-2014’
will be held from March 20 to May 18 at the Art Museum of Macau.