Art is often personal, and that’s certainly the case with Tina Yip Nga-ting’s award-winning piece Embodiment. Using ballpoint pen as her medium, the 17-year-old drew eight boxes, each featuring a torso resembling plaster statues. The bodies have scars and bruises to shed light on idealistic beauty standards imposed on women.
The piece won the Caritas Fanling Chan Chun Ha Secondary School student the champion prize in the painting category at this year’s Wharf Hong Kong Secondary School Art Competition. The competition, supported by the Hong Kong Museum of Modern Art (HKMoA), celebrates the creativity and artistic talent of the city’s secondary school students.
Tina’s piece reflects her own feelings about her appearance.
“體現“ or “Embodiment” by Tina Yip Nga-ting. Photo: Handout
“When I was in primary school, I was perturbed about my body shape. I would wear a jacket to cover my body all year round,” the Form Five student explained. “I’m afraid of people discussing my body.”
Tina explained that women face a lot of pressure about their looks in society, and that people have incorrect ideas about what makes someone beautiful.
“The boxes represent different kinds of beauty,” she said. “I hope people understand that there is beauty in imperfection.”
For those struggling with anxiety about their physiques, Tina said not to let negative thinking affect their self-esteem.
“Although others’ opinions may be upsetting, staying happy is the most important.”
Finding joy in chaos
The competition was divided into two categories: painting and digital graphics. About 60 outstanding entries were shortlisted for consideration, with 54 paintings and six digital artworks. Winners were chosen by a panel of renowned art professionals in Hong Kong.
Choy Shun-yan, the winner of the digital graphics category, used Pablo Picasso’s famous 1937 painting, Guernica, as the blueprint for her work. Although the original piece features a monochromatic style and sombre mood, Shun-yan’s work contains colourful 3D morphed figures and silhouettes with looks of excitement. The name of her piece is 快遠離它！不加思索, which translates to Stay away from it! Don’t think about it in English. It’s also a play on words, since it includes a pun on the Cantonese pronunciation of Picasso.
“快遠離它！不加思索“ by Choy Shun-yan. Photo: Handout
“The original painting is about war … it is something sad. [In my painting] I hope everyone can understand that happiness is not granted,” the 17-year-old student at Po Kok Secondary School explained. She added that peace and happiness were precious when conflicts and chaos were constantly happening worldwide.
The Form Five student also won a special award since her work matched the competition’s theme, “Museum and Colours”.
This award allowed her to join a tour arranged by HKMoA to explore an exhibition about Chinese traditional lining and mounting techniques in calligraphy.
“I discovered the diversity of Chinese calligraphy. [I realised how] words are also a manifestation of art,” she said.
Historical French fashion on display at Hong Kong Palace Museum
Expressions of joy and art appreciation
Meanwhile, Form Five student Renee Fung Yi-tung, the first runner-up in the painting category, was inspired by her childhood experiences helping her aunt at the fish market. She recalled one incident in particular that shaped her views: “When I was helping in the fish stall, a woman covered her nose with her scarf, acting disgusted [by] the fishy smell,” the 17-year-old said.
In her piece Fish (My) Heartfelt Joy, the student portrays herself smiling in joy as she lays in a basket of fish, symbolising pure serenity and cosiness.
Renee said the painting expressed how restful she felt while working at a fish market, even if it made others nauseous.
“魚（余）． 心樂“ by Fung Yi-tung. Photo: Handout
She emphasised the importance of finding genuine happiness: “[I hope people] can understand that happiness does not need approval from others. It is for yourself only.”
Sylvia Xiao Yuk-hom, the first runner-up of the digital section, said she hoped to encourage art appreciation with her piece.
“When I am looking at this picture, I feel like I’m assimilated into the world of arts,” said the 15-year-old artist from Queen Elizabeth School.
Her painting Wonder of Arts shows a girl walking down a museum hallway, mesmerised by the hanging artworks. The elements of the paintings seem to fly out of the frames.
The Form Four student said she was inspired by Dale Chihuly’s ceiling art and Vincent van Gogh’s piece Wheatfield with Crows.
“Just like Wheatfield with Crows by Van Gogh. I think the brushstrokes (on the painting) are very delicate and fine.”
“I hope viewers can learn how to appreciate a piece of art when we are looking at it … we may find a lot that deserve appreciation.”
The winning pieces will be on display at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, Times Square in Causeway Bay and Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill from September to October.