Fatina Kong: Flourishing city spectacles

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Contemporary by Angela Li proudly presents solo exhibition of Fatina Kong titled “Flourishing city spectacles”, featuring her latest series of paintings. The exhibition reception will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, 1 February, 2024, with the artist present. The exhibition will run until 2 March, 2024.

In this exhibition, Fatina Kong’s artworks undergo a transition from cityscapes and landscapes to capturing the intricate veins found in nature. Viewers can easily recognise the interplay between reality and abstract elements within her paintings. Kong’s innovative narrative approach arises from flower stems, leaf veins, and stone traces, which possess natural qualities reminiscent of the cyclic rotation processes in nature. While humans are not involved in these natural occurrences, we may observe the distinct marks they leave.

Kong’s brushstrokes delicately intertwine, like silk threads, and her paintings have overlapping layers that create a sense of depth and dimension. The artist meticulously layers her works, resulting in paintings that evoke the way reflections appear on the surfaces of water or a mirror. Additionally, the circular shapes of her artworks symbolise the cyclical nature of time.

Kong believes that nature’s evolution is beyond human influence. Time, despite being an abstract concept, embodies profound beliefs that surpass our conventional understanding of reality. The abundance of flowers and trees symbolises different stages in time. While it is impossible for us to physically travel back in time and witness the emergence of a seedling, Kong’s works possess the remarkable ability of capturing the lingering imprints left by the changing seasons.

In Kong’s painted world, time gracefully weaves itself through the intermingling and overlapping flowers, leaves, as well as the spaces between far-off and nearby rocks and mountains. The fragmented stones eventually morph into towering buildings and structures, while young seedlings grow into tall trees and entwining vines. Kong’s paintings depict natural transformations, seamlessly blending scenery and reminding viewers to cherish the present moment. Her artwork reflects the ever-changing world and encourages mindfulness and a deeper connection with the beauty of the present.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Fatina Kong’s works incorporate the idea of lives and events in endless cycles. She has been exploring the relationship between nature and human society and has built a unique perspective on the cycle of life. She wrote, “things are always changing and goes around in circles”. Her works therefore usually come in round forms, implying the cycle of birth and death. The buildings, crystals, stones and plants in her artwork are also presented in a way to express their interdependent relationship.

Fatina Kong graduated from the Academy of Visual Art, Hong Kong Baptist University in 2015. After receiving her art degree, she keeps exploring ways to combine Chinese painting with Western media. In 2018, Kong went to Xining, China to further study painting; and in the same year, she also participated in an artist residency program in Japan, which she found resonance in the Eastern painting more than ever. Inspired by the recordings and images from her daily life, her works give shape to a new landscape that merges memories and fantasy. On top of ink and Chinese pigment as painting media, she adds new layers to her works by using materials such as resin and acrylic board, to create a unique temperament that echoes with the traditional Chinese aesthetic. She has been exhibited in Hong Kong, China and Japan.