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Q&ABouie Choi blends nostalgia and nature at Art Basel Hong Kong

Choi’s intricate paintings on reclaimed wood are inspired by folk legends and scenes of Hong Kong as well as the artist’s childhood memories

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Bouie Choi in her studio at the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre, in Shek Kip Mei. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
Aaina Bhargava
Artist Bouie Choi Yuk-kuen is in the midst of a creative dilemma when I arrive at her studio, tucked away on the eighth floor of the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei.

“I can’t decide what to do with this now,” Choi says, referring to a large wooden panel upon which she has etched the image of a bird. “It’s a black-faced spoonbill, a migratory bird that’s found in Hong Kong and a few other places. It was inspired by a childhood memory – in primary school I once dressed up as a bird for a school play, and it was actually televised on a local channel.”

Memories fuel Choi’s intricate, nostalgic, imagery-filled paintings on reclaimed wood that are the result of deep introspection and a painstaking process. Carefully chiselled scenes of Hong Kong’s coastal vistas and skylines, quirky iconographies and episodes from folk legends find their way into her work. Preservation is at the centre of the artist’s intention and art – both materially, in reusing wood, and conceptually, through foregrounding memories, old tales and ideas.

Choi’s studio is homely, soothing and earthy, reflecting the sentiments and aesthetics her works evoke. Plants, crystals, rocks and the warming tones of wood permeate the space, while her sketches and artworks hang on the wall.

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