藝評

(A review of Hong Kong artist Ricky Yeung's "i(LL)" exhibition - scroll down for English translation  這是一篇有關楊秀卓《病有我》的藝評。捲動下方可見英文翻譯。）

All images: installation photographs during the exhibition (Photographs: John Batten)

圖片來源：約翰伯德攝於展覽期間

楊秀卓: 黑暗中點點靈光

何慶基

2019年後香港跌下黑暗深淵，無論經濟或文化都死吓死吓。燒銀紙搞各種巨型活動，亦未能挑起公眾半點熱鬧，更談不上興𡚒。藝術也同時流於死寂，藝術圈人乾脆躺平，有些找個小題目大造文章，或尋幽探秘弄個私人𣈱快，或是沉醉於把玩筆觸技巧嚟個自我感覺良好，但都未曾認真面對幾十年來港人首次陷於的恐懼悲鬱。

楊秀卓在兆基創意書院的《我有病》，是個影象加文字的黑白大型裝置，也是近年少見地針對香港低陷於的沉鬱無助狀態。展覽由創作者逐步擴展到整個香港，由疫症引發的情緒低落，然後悲傷錯亂進一步擴展至全面黑暗，展覽中一面大牆正好是對這錯亂壓抑狀態的肢離破碎回應，處處顯出面對當前景況的掙扎。楊秀卓沒有明言這黑暗悲涼的來源，觀眾自然心裏明白黑暗的根源。

 Artist Ricky Yeung talking to a group of students during his exhibition.

願意公開面對當前困境的香港藝術已屬罕見，難得的是不陷於悲情自憐，黑暗中仍存希望，拒絕低迷。展覽的點點亮光，來自幾位本地作家的說話，夾雜在紛擾的文字和形象之間，先有黃碧雲道出那無形的恐懼，儘管它——不用做什麼「鬼魂最可怕的是，他從來不做什麼，他只是在。經歷人生突然或漸漸的失去，在漫長的守哀期我開始害怕我身旁的那一扇窗。」潘國靈指出極度困難情況，儘管重重局限，卻也激發全新感知——「身體失效才激發對身體的高度意識和全新感知，當中亦不是沒有自我再做的可能而這也是一種自由（儘管自由之境，永不可竟及）。展覽最後用董啟章的說話，給予積極的結語——「你並不是那個自以為焦慮而有限的人，你就是慈悲本身，全然覺知，而且具有為自己及一切人、事、物達到至善的能力。」

突然的黑暗，才察覺到，麽肢離細小但閃爍亮麗的光。

Ricky Yeung Sau-cheuk: A Little Light in the Darkness

by Oscar Ho

Hong Kong has fallen into an abyss of darkness after 2019, both economically and culturally. All kinds of (government supported) “mega-events” have been organised, but they have failed to stir any excitement among the public, nor frankly any excitement at all! The art world has also been dead. Some people in the art world simply ‘lie down’, some find a small issue or topic to make a big fuss about, or search for a hidden or small-circle-amongst-friends issue to get a personal thrill, or indulge in playing with brush-strokes to feel good about themselves, but none have seriously faced the fear and depression that Hong Kong people have been trapped-in for the first time in several decades.

Ricky Yeung Sau-cheuk's exhibition “i (ll)” at the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity in Hong Kong is a large-scale black-and-white installation of (mural-sized wall paintings and drawings) images and text. It is a rare example in recent years of a large-scale installation that directly addresses Hong Kong's state of depression and helplessness. The exhibition gradually expands from the artist’s personal feelings to the whole of Hong Kong’s: from the depression triggered by the COVID epidemic, then sadness and confusion that further expands into total darkness. The large wall murals in the exhibition exactly reflect society’s fragmented response to this chaotic and depressing state, and depict the struggle of facing the current situation. Yeung does not explicitly state the source of this darkness, but the audience naturally understands its root causes.

It is rare for Hong Kong art exhibitions to willingly and openly face-up to the city’s current predicament. What is also rare about this exhibition is that the artist does not fall into self-pity, but remains hopeful in the midst of the darkness, refusing to be downtrodden. The exhibition is further illuminated by the words of several local writers, interspersed amongst the images. Wong Pik Wan speaks of an intangible fear, realising - even without having to do anything - “…(that) the most frightening thing about a ghost is that he never stops doing anything, he is only present. Experiencing sudden or gradual loss in life, I became afraid of the window beside me during this long period of sadness.”

Meanwhile, Poon Kwok Ling points out that despite the limitations of an extremely difficult situation, a new perception has been triggered: “It is the failure of the body that triggers a high level of awareness and a new perception of the body, which is not without the possibility of self-recovery, which is also a kind of freedom (although the realm of freedom is never to be reached).”

The exhibition ends on a positive note with Tung's words: “You are not such a limited person who thinks you are limited, you are compassion itself, fully aware and with the ability to achieve the best for yourself and for everyone, everything and everyone else.”

Suddenly, in the darkness one realises, the lights are small but shining brightly.

展覽詳情 | Exhibition details:

楊秀卓 -《病有我》 | Ricky Yeung Sau-cheuk: “i (ll)”

香港兆基創意書院 | HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Kowloon City, Hong Kong

10月12日至11月17日 | 12 October to 17 November 2024