WHAT
Recently returned to Hong Kong after receiving a Master’s degree in Norway, the artist’s newest series is a culmination of her experiences abroad and juxtaposes her life between Norway and Hong Kong. The new exhibition provides a contrast from her previous works as her life in Norway allowed her to explore a different side and method to her art. In her paintings, Cheng uses chaotic brushstrokes and colour blocks, followed by the construction of interactions and interconnections between layers. The creative trajectory of this exhibition apparently re-enacts the artist’s late night experience in Bergen, where it took her 4 hours to walk home in the dark. To her, artistic creation is a process of memory reconstruction in hindsight.

WHY
Audiences rarely get insight into what causes an artist to change their style or influences but in this case, viewers get a deep understanding of the shift in Cheng’s works. The divisive line between her time before and after Norway is clear in her art, and allows audiences to grasp the true impact of her time away from Hong Kong. Besides seeing the newest works of the artist, who had a promising start in Hong Kong, through this contrast viewers can also get a chance to reflect on the cultural differences between a foreign country and Hong Kong, and ponder the impact of that prolonged experience. More importantly, the exhibition expresses her newer ideas and discoveries, and especially her explorations with the use of light.