This week in PostMag: Marina Abramovic, the language of food and back-alley kung fu

There are so many paths to arrive at what we capital-letter D “do” in life. Did you always know deep down this would be it? Or did you follow a course that zigged and zagged early on, with dots that could only be connected in retrospect? As someone firmly in the latter camp, I’m convinced that instances of the former are rare. How lucky to be one of the few with that conviction and assuredness – though, of course, it’s not to say the journey is any easier.

In this week’s print issue of PostMag, we see both. From expressing herself creatively in childhood to studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, 77-year-old Marina Abramovic has dedicated her life to art. The groundbreaking performance artist’s oeuvre encompasses three months in 1988 spent walking the Great Wall; now, more than 35 years later, she returns with her first solo show in China, which opened earlier this month in Shanghai. For our feature by Polly Hui, Abramovic reflects on her work, both past and present.

Hong Kong’s own Stefanie Leung has taken a more circuitous route to her calling. The chef of OOAK Lamma – the island’s secluded private kitchen that’s open only to a select few – explains to Gavin Yeung how her love of languages first drew her to practising law. That is, until she realised that food is simply another language with which she can express herself. Now, Leung has built a gastronomic destination that feels worlds apart from the city, although it’s only a 15-minute boat ride away.

In Fujian province, Will Wain-Williams speaks with Lin Shan Quan, a gregarious martial arts master who brings both locals and foreigners into the fold in his back-alley Fuzhou shop. Lin’s infectious zeal for Incense Shop kung fu is so powerful I could feel the energy through Jambo Hui’s photographs.

These three show us, no matter how we arrive at it, it’s the underlying passion driving our day-to-day that keeps us alive and young – at least in spirit.