杭 州 胡 雪 巖 故 居 Hu Xueyan"s Private Garden, Hangzhou
Artist Statement
Objects forget not traces of human. Human stories behind doors can never be erased. Door is itself a kind of life, which records stories from the past to present, the human civilization and vitality. With no flowery style, Bendick Leung sets off this artistic record from his personal sensibility, catches different images of door within those precious moments, and recovers stories in the dark. With Bendick Leung as our guide, this exhibition brings us to a journey of life across doors.
What’s behind the firm and solid city gate? Is it fine wine with delicious dishes behind the entrance of restaurant? Does this door signify richness or poverty? Is this new or old? Is story happy or sad? Different historical events and themes like religion, tradition and humanities and all fully unfolded through Bendick Leung’s works.
Religion: some doors under the broad daylight look solemn, some with monks in the front, some full of tourists paying visits; Some belongs to Buddhist temples; Some belong to Lamasery; Some are decorated in wood – plain and simple, some are in golden feeling – fine and splendid. Which one would you like to enter? Would you accept the invitation of the monk?
Historical-traditional: the tightly locked city gate – when the glimpse of light sneaks through that only opening，dare you move a step further or stay still? Would the stories behind the city gate fade away as the fate of its peeled off surface? The newly renovated one appears too perfect and cold, nothing appealing. Tourists choose only to sleep and rest on the steps at the door front rather than to pay any admiration to it; while the ones surviving through time, and still stands rough today, would give out a sense of warmth, retain the memories, add to our imagination on its historical events behind – emperor paying a royal progress, concubines being summoned, senior general being dispatched … What our predecessors have left to us are not only touching stories, meaningful lessons, but moreover an enlargement of our room of imagination, helps us create our own subjective artistic beauty.
Daily-life: the first right, the sixth left, the tenth left, the fourth left … how to shut the door for our predecessors? How much do you understand their life? What a crowded Chinese New Year with fire-crackers and couplets in front, all around their house? Iron lock on the city gates appears heavy and cold; bamboo on the doors of common people appears comfort-natural, as a kind of rustic design more than for protection. This is what traditional Chinese are like: simple, content, kind, and warm. Let’s get in the lane to share their local happiness!
Today: modern architecture emphasize on the practical aspect as well as the outlook and design. Geometrical shapes, layer by layer visual texture, and light reflection, all appears more brilliant under Bendick Leung’s camera.
Without complex equipments, only through catching the very mood and moments, only through handling different extent of silhouettes, mirror and light reflections, artful perspectives and the beauty of pattern, Bendick Leung has already reached such a highly sophisticated and aesthetic level. What can it be if this is not personal insight?
What’s behind the firm and solid city gate? Is it fine wine with delicious dishes behind the entrance of restaurant? Does this door signify richness or poverty? Is this new or old? Is story happy or sad? Different historical events and themes like religion, tradition and humanities and all fully unfolded through Bendick Leung’s works.
Religion: some doors under the broad daylight look solemn, some with monks in the front, some full of tourists paying visits; Some belongs to Buddhist temples; Some belong to Lamasery; Some are decorated in wood – plain and simple, some are in golden feeling – fine and splendid. Which one would you like to enter? Would you accept the invitation of the monk?
Historical-traditional: the tightly locked city gate – when the glimpse of light sneaks through that only opening，dare you move a step further or stay still? Would the stories behind the city gate fade away as the fate of its peeled off surface? The newly renovated one appears too perfect and cold, nothing appealing. Tourists choose only to sleep and rest on the steps at the door front rather than to pay any admiration to it; while the ones surviving through time, and still stands rough today, would give out a sense of warmth, retain the memories, add to our imagination on its historical events behind – emperor paying a royal progress, concubines being summoned, senior general being dispatched … What our predecessors have left to us are not only touching stories, meaningful lessons, but moreover an enlargement of our room of imagination, helps us create our own subjective artistic beauty.
Daily-life: the first right, the sixth left, the tenth left, the fourth left … how to shut the door for our predecessors? How much do you understand their life? What a crowded Chinese New Year with fire-crackers and couplets in front, all around their house? Iron lock on the city gates appears heavy and cold; bamboo on the doors of common people appears comfort-natural, as a kind of rustic design more than for protection. This is what traditional Chinese are like: simple, content, kind, and warm. Let’s get in the lane to share their local happiness!
Today: modern architecture emphasize on the practical aspect as well as the outlook and design. Geometrical shapes, layer by layer visual texture, and light reflection, all appears more brilliant under Bendick Leung’s camera.
Without complex equipments, only through catching the very mood and moments, only through handling different extent of silhouettes, mirror and light reflections, artful perspectives and the beauty of pattern, Bendick Leung has already reached such a highly sophisticated and aesthetic level. What can it be if this is not personal insight?
