gdm Hong Kong is pleased to present Fung Ming Chip’s fourth solo exhibition with the gallery. Featuring a collection of the artist’s work spanning almost three decades, the exhibition journeys through Fung’s evolving visual language. Unifying the modern with the traditional, figuration with abstraction, script with image – his work marks a radical reimagination of the centuries-old tradition of calligraphy. A self-taught artist, Fung’s practice goes against the grain, constantly experimenting with new tools and techniques, to explore the changing character of language across time and space. Encompassing over a hundred unique script styles, which are constantly being revisited and revised, Fung’s calligraphies capture humanity’s intuitive and insatiable curiosity.
As an avid acolyte of the latest internet trends, the artist’s most recent body of work combines Taoist Fulu, incantations and symbols written or painted onto talismans, with Chinese pop culture vernacular. Traditionally used to ward off evil spirits, these Fulu humorously evoke the modern man’s everyday desires and hardships – an after-work party from which you want to 886 (bye bye la!); an invocation to the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas to increase your viewership count; a contemptuous prayer that corrupt politicians get what they deserve, roast over the spitfire like BBQ. Worked into the artist’s lingo after many sleepless nights scrolling through Douyin, the Fulu reflect upon the rapidly changing function of language through slang in the digital age, ratcheted by the increasing influence of social media. This audacious reinterpretation of a cultural artefact speaks to the unique spirit of East Asian religions: where Western religions are beholden to the one and almighty God, the Chinese asks God to please give them a raise.
