Born and raised in Hong Kong before the return of the sovereignty, Ng Lung Wai is a visual artist very much influenced by western eugenics. As with many Hong Kongese from the 1970s of ethnic Chinese descent, culturally he feels “Chinese” despite the inevitable influence drawn from a hybrid lifestyle that was not uncommon among this generation of Hongkongers, a generation that grew up to know Hong Kong as the British Colonial, city-state.
In the solo exhibition “One person – Two systems”, a reflection of Ng’s cultural identity, the artist once again invokes indicative and iconic portraits, working with a new range of materials, which juxtapose cultural references recalling the Hong Kong artist’s observations of the developing landscapes. It is with these creations, portraits in culturally symbolic hues of red and blue, that we see eastern and western tools of artistic creation or the familiar objects representative of war strategy games such as Western and Asian Chess Pieces, Chinese ink brushes and Oil paintbrushes becoming the points or pixels, which form the timeless iconic faces of the late Chairman Mao Zedong and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the two leaders of the East and West in the 1970s. In 1971, the year Ng was born, during the reign of these ruling figureheads, Wai confidently venerates two of the most influential and important individuals in recent history.
The chosen materials for this exhibition are thoughtfully applied to the topical and cultural reference portraits with a familiar level of unfathomable delivery. Craftsmanship equally as remarkable as his earlier works are exhibited in the 1960s icon exhibition. Ng Lung Wai, with his own take on pointillism, a “contextual pointillism”, constructs artworks with a surgical-like precision, portraits of significant figureheads which are comprised of collectible items amassed through over a decade of collecting. In the body of work from his latest solo exhibition “One Person – Two Systems”, the context is not lost to Ng, considering the changing environment unraveling before his eyes. Having undertaken several museum exhibitions and large-scale installations in addition to demonstrating a deep profile of technical ability through his diverse artwork portfolio, Ng Lung Wai is becoming collectable among prestigious international private collectors and institutes on a global scale.