Artist Profile

Elly Wan Sheung Wah is a Hong Kong based artist who graduated from the UK with a BA in Painting in 2014. Space has been an indispensable theme in her paintings. In a series made in relation to architecture, minimal composition is used to reflect a strong visual emptiness. A mysterious atmosphere pervades her works, serving as a space for the imagination of the viewer who is brought to question what is happening or what is about to happen. Existing experiences and memories are important sources of inspiration. Not simply a means of expression, for Elly painting also reveals what we have neglected. Insignificant things are of particular interest, since it is her belief that human emotion is easily affected by our surroundings, especially in relation to the way individuals live or behave.

Based in Hong Kong, Elly has recently been invited to participate in the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (group) held at the Mall Galleries, London in November.

Residency Plan

During her stay at Youkobo Art Space, Elly will continue to observe space and insignificant things found in Tokyo. Her works to date mostly derive from personal experience, but this time she intends to create works that develop connections with environments and communities. Elly believes that the question of how a relationship between "old" and "contemporary" can be negotiated is a controversial issue among the new generation of Japanese. Hence, she is particularly interested in the balance between tradition and modernity in cities. Although Hong Kong and Japan are in the same region (Asia), what she has observed so far is that Japanese are more enthusiastic about and show respect for their local tradition. With an interest in applying oriental elements to her works, she will be experiencing traditional Japanese culture and craftsmanship while also undertaking research to find distinguishing cultural characteristics in Tokyo that differ from Hong Kong. In late November during the open-air exhibition "Trolls in the Park 2015" in the Youkobo vicinity, she will hold an open studio of works created during her stay in Tokyo.

Date	2015.10.01 - 2015.11.30
Place	AIR-C
Website	http://thisiserissss.tumblr.com/