Poetic Illustrations

Macau artist Eric Fok is just one of the talented visual artists participating in this year’s 

The Script Road – Macau Literary Festival

 

 

Young Macau artist Eric Fok has announced that he will present a brand new piece of work that he has specially created for the Macau Literary Festival, together with other art pieces from his previous collections.

 

Eric is particularly well known for his excellent techniques and creative ideas, blending both historical and present-day aspects of Macau into his works. His elegant technical illustration collection Paradise was selected for a number of awards, including the renowned ‘Bologna Illustrators Exhibition’ in 2013.

 

For the Paradise collection, Eric chose a creative and interesting way to interpret today’s Macau presenting it in the stlye of old Western maps. Looking at this collection, one has the feeling of stepping back into the history of Macau. The style of map is inspired by those used and created by the early Portuguese explorers who  set out on their adventures to the Far East and arrived in Macau in the mid-1500’s. Centuries later, this tiny city has become a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures, and in his artwork Eric presents the new adventure being undertaken in Macau, depicting images of rapid development juxtaposed on an old-style map – a perfect echo of the city’s history.

 

“It was 2011 to 2012 when I was drawing the Paradise collection, the peak of the gambling industry development in Macau and everything was changing so fast,” says Eric. “Macau could hardly keep up with the pace at that time and that led to many social problems. So I came up with the idea to reflects today’s Macau in an old map. It presents a feeling of time travel.”

 

 Artists often find inspiration in their hometowns and connect it to their art work in their own unique way. This sense of belonging can increase as one gets to know and understand more about the place’s origins and what it is has gone through.

 

 “I am amazed as I research more about Macau’s history. It always surprises me when I find out that the places I go to were once the sea. There are so many places in Macau that are reclaimed land.  This inspired me to show the changes of the coastline of Macau throughout these years in my work,” Eric explains. “For me it is always a process of learning while I draw, to reveal the history of Macau and to discover more untold stories.”

 

 Speaking about his plans for his exhibition at The Script Road, Eric reveals that it is still a work in progress.

 

 “At this stage I am still conceptualising it. My idea is to connect an ancient Chinese poet with a technical drawing. I am not sure if I will change my mind when I draw, but for now I would like to present it in a Chinese reel painting. Nonetheless I still need to study more about the poet so I can make up my mind,” Eric admits.

 

 Today there is a trend of combining different fields of art to create new interpretations, for example combining digital mapping with historical heritage architecture.

 

 “To combine literature with drawing is also a new attempt for me, so I am looking forward to the final product and seeing how it will turn out.”