Created By
Wai Hong
Ink and color on silver Xuan paper on wood
Curator
Luke Chapman
This powerful piece from HONG Wai's "Hong Kong Express" series directly references Anita Mui's iconic stage makeup from 1987, particularly from her groundbreaking "Bad Girl" performances. The artist's choice to focus solely on the eyes creates an intense intimacy while highlighting the theatrical aspects of Mui's public persona. Through HONG's masterful blend of traditional Chinese ink techniques with contemporary subject matter, the work becomes a meditation on performance, identity, and transformation in Hong Kong's golden age of entertainment. The deliberate tension between control and fluidity in the execution mirrors the cultural dynamics of that pivotal era.
"1987 Evil" (2025) is a circular composition on silver Xuan paper, focusing on a cropped view of dramatic eye makeup rendered in traditional Chinese ink and watercolor. The piece captures an intimate close-up of two eyes adorned with bold blue, purple, and red theatrical makeup, executed with precise brushwork and delicate color gradations. The lower portion of the image dissolves into controlled drips of color - blues, purples, grays, and ochres - that cascade down the circular format. The work includes traditional red seal marks and calligraphic characters at the top of the composition, while the artist's signature and seal appear in the lower left. The circular format, characteristic of traditional Chinese art, creates an intense focus on the gaze, while the dripping technique introduces a contemporary element of controlled chaos.
Created By
Wai Hong
33 x 33 cm | 13 x 13 in
50 x 50 cm
2025
