At half a century old, local artist Ng Fong Chao infuses his reflections on life and death into his fiery passion for art and presents the results in his new exhibition “Untitled at Fifty”. Held at the Art for All Society (AFA), the exhibition runs until November 2
Turning 50 years old seems to carry a special meaning in Chinese culture, recognised as entering the “age of sage” and, in the words of Confucius, “knowing the mandate of Heaven”. For Ng Fong Chao, who turned 50 this year, the number symbolises a turning point in his life and his art. His new exhibition, “Untitled at Fifty”, is currently on display in the Art for All Society (AFA) and runs until November 25 (closed on Sundays).
“Four years ago, I held an oil painting exhibition, which at that time felt like a mid-life report. As for this exhibition, I think it signifies a turning point in my artistic exploration. I experiment more with non-painting art forms. For me, painting is relatively emotional, whilst other forms of art are more rational. You have to consciously select the items to create the best effect,” Ng compares.
His own life is also going through a turning point, Ng confesses. Having lost his father last year and witnessing the birth of his son shortly after, Ng has taken this exhibition as a dedication to his father, whom he had rarely spent time with since childhood. The inaudible words of his dying father are filmed in the video installation “Final Note”, and the screenshots of voice messages of his father and his son, translated into incomprehensible sentences by speech recognition software, are framed on the wall to form the exhibit “Speech Without Words”.
“The artwork is a solemn response toward the interminable cycle of Life and Death,” writes Alice Kok, curator of this exhibition.
The other element of the title, “Untitled”, is more complex than it appears, according to Ng.
“‘Untitled’ may sound like a blank slate, with no content or themes. But I actually chose it because I cannot summarise fifty years of my life into just one or two words; it stands for the many things I have felt and wanted to express,” Ng explains.
The exhibits cover an array of art forms, including painting, printmaking, video art, installations and photography
“Ever since I started to study art, I’ve kept an open mind. By learning art history, I got to know the variety of art forms, and I realised fairly early that art should not be limited to a certain form. All you need to do is to find the right art form to express your ideas,” Ng shares.
“I don’t care if people say I lack ‘focus’ or ‘concentration’, because I’m enjoying the creative process, and I’m also accumulating experience along the way—which is crucial in generating inspiration. You know, inspiration doesn’t come to you out of nowhere, you have to reach a certain level of practice and experience to be visited by inspiration.”
Ng is without doubt a firm believer in practice. He has been creating art for decades, and still feels the strong urge to pursue artistic advance, break bottlenecks, and recraft previous creations. One of the exhibits, “Traversing – Mirage”, is a re-creation of Ng’s series of conceptual photography in 2009, entitled “The Prosperity Alarm of the Goldfish Tank in Nam Van Lake”.
“I designed, directed, and performed in the 2009 project, you might call it performance art or performance theatre. I rented six boats, and hired boatmen and around 20 non-professional actors for the project. I directed their actions through walkie-talkies. What you see here are just a small portion of the over 1,000 photos taken then.”
On top of the old photos, Ng has repainted with watercolour to create a new perspective.
“I used watercolour to overlay the previous creations. The new series is more about the visual side, but its nature is consistent with the 2009 work,” Ng says.
The props and costumes from that project have been kept in Ng’s studio, and this time, they are cleverly transformed into another art-piece, a major installation that occupies half of the exhibition space. The almost all-encompassing work, “Materialisation: My Studio”, shows Ng’s precious collection of used props and seemingly useless daily items.
“All the things in front of your eyes are from my studio. Some people say that I’m the type of people that ‘doesn’t let go’, But that’s never my intention. I keep everything simply because I like them. Everything that I have come across because of art is kept,” Ng says.
“Here are some assignments I did in college, the prop shovel made of plastic, the worn plastic woven bag that has witnessed the relocation of my studio several times, the ‘bead curtain’ made of paper towel clumps I used to wipe my painting brushes, the Bible that has stayed in my studio for many years…They are the visible and original traces of my art creation.”
“I once said, art is everything to me. It’s not happiness that I gain from art. What I gain from art is the strength to face reality, the negative, pessimistic, powerless side of reality. I cannot live without art,” Ng concludes.
