How culture, politics and people inspire this Hong Kong artist
Chow Chun-fai has chosen veteran journalist-turned-gallery owner Sharon Cheung as his muse for his latest series of paintings to be displayed at Art Basel Hong Kong
Artist Chow Chun-fai first became aware of journalist Sharon Cheung Po-wah from her 2000 interaction with the then Chinese president Jiang Zemin. During a press conference in Beijing, when Cheung quizzed Jiang over the endorsement of Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa for a second term, the Chinese leader famously berated her, calling her questioning, as a journalist, “too simple, sometimes naive”. It is a moment that has since achieved meme status with the Hong Kong public, both in journalism circles and beyond.
“It’s not just how Cheung was bold enough to ask the question, but also that the leaders revealed their true emotions,” says Chow. “I don’t know if that was my first encounter with her, but it definitely was the most memorable.”
Over the past two decades, Chow, 45, has built a reputation as a quintessentially Hong Kong artist. A graduate of Chinese University’s Department of Fine Arts, he is best known for his ongoing series “Painting on Movies”, depicting scenes from films that often uncannily reflect public sentiment. One of his most recognised works, from 2007, features a still from Infernal Affairs (2002), with Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s character stating, “I want my identity back” – an allusion to the then nascent struggles of Hongkongers’ relationship with their hometown.
One of Chow Chun-fai’s most recognised works is based on a scene from the film Infernal Affairs for his series Painting on Movies. Photo: courtesy SC Gallery
Chow has also drawn on his experience as a taxi driver, having inherited his father’s taxi licence when he was still in school. In recent years, he’s been taking inspiration from the political upheaval of 2019 for his series “Portraits from Behind”, and has depicted lost street corners and cultural landmarks in his “Map of Amnesia” exhibition.
Cheung, formerly of the South China Morning Post and Cable TV, left her trade during the pandemic and studied for an arts degree, initially seeing it as a way to indulge her interest in drawing. But when artist and educator Kurt Chan Yuk-keung complimented her on her curatorial skills, she parlayed her passion into promoting local artists who could benefit from her background in marketing and journalism. In 2022, she founded SC Gallery, in Wong Chuk Hang, and has since put on a slew of group and solo exhibitions, working with artists such as Gum Cheng Yee-man, Oscar Chan Yik-long and Cheng Ting Ting.
For “Interview the Interviewer II”, a series of paintings that will be on display at Art Basel Hong Kong’s Insights sector, Chow assumes the role of the interviewer, drawing from materials accumulated by Cheung during her time as a political reporter, to interpret and re-present recent Hong Kong history through the lens of someone on the front lines of important moments in the city.
Chow Chun-fai’s painting of a still from news footage showing a 1999 meeting between US president Bill Clinton and premier Zhu Rongji, subtitled “I love American people, thank you.” Photo: courtesy SC Gallery
Among the works is a still from news footage that shows a 1999 meeting between former United States president Bill Clinton and former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, subtitled I love American people, thank you. Given where Sino-US relations stand today, it recalls a simpler geopolitical era, one near-unimaginable today.
