Entering December, AFA is looking forward seeing the opening of “Update - Macau AFA 12th Anniversary Exhibition of New Members” on 19th December (Thursday), 6:30pm at Tak Chun Macau Art Garden. The participating artists include Catherine Cheong, Ernest Wan, Hera Ieong, Ieong Man Hin, MJ Lee and Wong Weng Cheong. They are among AFA the new member artists of AFA.

Update - Macau AFA 12th Anniversary Exhibition of New Members

After graduating from the Visual Art School in Design at the Macau Polytechnic Institute in 2003, Catherine Cheong studied in France in 2005, and obtained a bachelor's degree in art from Toulon, France in 2008. After returning to Macau in 2009, she went to France again for further studies in 2016. She is currently studying for a master's degree in Paris. The work "Three Thousand Hairs #Black / #White" exhibited by Catherine Cheong is composed of two video works, which are gradually completed by the falling and filling of black hair and white hair. Catherine’s video art is often related to her body. In previous works, she even used certain parts of her body as a creative medium. This new work in 2019 was developed from her work back in 2008 when she started shooting her own falling hair.

 
Three Thousand Hairs # Black, Catherine Cheong, 34',Vedio Art, 2019

The artworks exhibited by Ernest Wan are "Russell's Turkey", "Titty Tainment" and "Black Swan Events". The works were drawn with charcoal on wooded board plated with gold foil. The drawings include turkeys, teats and black swans. At first glance, viewers probably don't understand the meaning unless they are already familiar with the philosophical, psychological, and economic theories indicated in the titles of the above works.  Ernest graduated from the Department of Graphic Communication, National Taiwan University of Arts. He has studied the methods used to convey information between images and words, such as the preaching role of past religious murals. He points out that even though the religious stories painted on the walls of churches or temples may not be familiar and need to be explained by missionaries, once the idea of the story is conveyed, these symbolic images can serve as a visual reminder. 

 
Keyword : Russell's Turkey, Ernest Van, 60 x 50 cm, 2019  

The series of works exhibited by Hera Ieong include her photographs and videos of “Urban Imprint” from 2011 to 2016, the cyanotype works “Daily Life in the City”, “Passers-by” and the latest works in 2019, "XXX".  Macau-born, Hera went to Taiwan to study in 2009, and obtained a bachelor's degree in calligraphy and painting in 2013. She then went on to study at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 2015, and then returned to Taiwan where she completed her master's degree. Traveling among Macau, Taiwan and Beijing, although Hera Ieong studied Chinese painting during her bachelor's degree, she has developed a strong interest in photography since 2010. She used film photography to record the different aspects of these cities, and  began to practise cyanotype during her masters to develop and shape her images on different paper such as rice paper or cardboard to experiment different effects.

 
impression of the city, Hera Ieong, Size variable, Vedio, 2010 - 2016

Ieong Man Hin exhibits his paintings "Deer" (2017), "Bear" (2018), and "Staring at the Mosses” (2019) and “Mossy Memory” (2019). Born in Macau, he studied painting with Macau artist Lai Ieng from a young age. Currently a year 3 postgraduate student majoring Fine Arts at Tunghai University. in Fine Arts. His works in the bachelor of art period are all animals, and the medium he chooses is "Asian Gouache Painting". Asian Gouache Painting is considered as the only medium that is completely undistorted in colour when dried.  The sacrifices made by animals in human civilisation have reached a level that cannot be ignored.  Ieong Man HIn painted animal portraits one after another with the gouache made of animal skin and bones. They appeared lonely on his canvases.There is a strong sense of mourning in these portraiture. Yes, artists may not be able to change the cruel world, but if attentions are drawn through these paintings, healing might occur? But Ieong Man Hin, who is still searching his way through, does not stay only in the world of animals, he also enters that of plants. Moss is a general term for bryophytes that grows on the surface of objects. It is as if the power of painting which fascinates Ieong Man Hin, is spreading like moss growing from the outside world to the solitary place of his soul, to reach the place where healing is most needed

 
Deer, IEONG MAN HIN, 145.5 x 97 cm, Silver foil, Mineral pigments, Paper, 2017

MJ Lee exhibits three sculptures all named "Untitled". Currently living in Macau, MJ is a Korean who was born in Seoul. She graduated with a BA in sculpture from the Ehwa Women’s University before studying in the UK. In 2016 she moved to Macau . The works exhibited are the latest works created in Macau in 2019. Two of the "Untitled" sculptures are made of polyurethane, plaster, polyester, silicone and metal. The two are similar in size and ambiguous in shape. The ambiguity and incomprehensibility expressed by MJ through her work is a kind of questioning in itself. As the British art historian and art critic Ernst Gombrich put forward in his book "Art and Illusion": "Why any representation must of necessity allow of an infinite number of interpretations, as why the selection of reading consistent with our anticipations must be the beholder’s share?" “In the eye of the beholder” is what MJ wants to point out.

Untitled, MJ Lee, polyurethane,plaster, polyester ,gold leaf , metal, silicone , black tape" 40x44x154 cm, 2019

The works exhibited by Wong Weng Cheong are from the series "Catch It Outside" created in 2018. The series consists of 36 works, which are a combination of three-dimensional modelling and computer graphics; printed with copperplate printing technics. Born in Macau, Wong Weng Cheong studied art in high school and began to learn traditional art media such as fine art printmaking. After graduating from high school, he studied in London. In 2017, he received a bachelor's degree in art from the Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK. During his studies in the UK, He explores the relationship between space and perception through virtual reality installations. The virtual space constructed by Wong is closely related to psychological states. The houses in his works are upright and straight, the light and dark gradient of the square or rectangular compartments are clear, showing the artist's sense of cleanliness in formal relationship.

Work 4, Wong Weng Cheong, 30 x 40 cm, etching on copper, 2018

“Update - Macau AFA 12th Anniversary Exhibition of New Members” is partly sponsored by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Macao SAR Government. Media partners include Hoje Macau and Ponto Final. The exhibition will be opened to public from December 20，2019 to January 20，2020.

 
AFA Macau is located in 1st Floor, Tak Chun Macau Art Garden, Avenida Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues N. 265, Macau. The gallery is on the First Floor, open from Monday to Saturday (11:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and closed on Sundays and public holidays. For enquiries, please call (853) 2836 6064 during office hours or email to info@afamacau.com. For more information, please visit www.afamacau.com.