天星小輪繞著星宿俯瞰地球，香港的山脈與大海躺臥在浮雲與星空之間，一切都似曾相識，一切都虛無飄渺⋯⋯這是黃進曦筆下香港的風景。

The Star Ferry circles around the constellations, overlooking Earth. Hong Kong’s mountains and oceans lie between the floating clouds and starry skies, everything feels familiar, yet everything is ephemeral… This is the landscape of Hong Kong as depicted by Wong Chun Hei.

繼疫情期間創作《孤高的旅程》，利用Google Earth到世界各地寫生，黃進曦從虛擬世界走向星際，為觀眾帶來最新個展《這天星際浪漫》。顧名思義，「天星」便是天星小輪，「星際」就是星宿天際，而兩者得以連繫，則是藝術家的奇思異想。

During the pandemic, Wong Chun Hei created “A Grand Tour in Google Earth,” using Google Earth to sketch landscapes from around the world. Transitioning from the virtual world to the interstellar, Wong Chun Hei brings forth his latest solo exhibition titled “The Star Ferry Tale”. As the name suggests, “Star Ferry” refers to the Star Ferry, while “the Star” encompasses the celestial skies, and the connection between the two reflects the artist’s imaginative creativity.

「今年我第一次對於自己看到的日常有一種陌生的感覺。」黃進曦形容這是一種奇怪的感覺。當身邊習以為常的事物變之快，讓人來不及適應，黃卻發現鳥瞰香港的風景，讓他有一份熟悉的感覺。因此，他希望透過展覽，與觀眾分享他這種異常的經驗。

“This year, for the first time, I felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity towards my daily surroundings,” describes Wong Chun Hei. When things around us change rapidly, leaving us little time to adapt, Wong discovered that viewing Hong Kong from a bird’s-eye perspective gave him a sense of familiarity. Therefore, he hopes to share this unusual experience with the audience through his exhibition.

黃進曦認為每個人對於香港的傳統與經典的定義不盡相同，會因應小時候所接觸的東西與生長環境和氣氛而相異。而他在許多具香港特色的元素中，挑選天星小輪作主題，皆因天星小輪是幾代人的集體回憶。在香港的事物不可逆轉地迅速轉變或消失時，黃進曦畫中的這輛天星小輪飛往星際，化身一輛太空船，從宇宙回望香港，回望一些消失的事物，或許會抽離一些，或許還會有一絲安慰。

Wong Chun Hei believes that everyone’s definition of Hong Kong’s tradition and classics varies, influenced by their childhood experiences, upbringing, and the atmosphere around them. Among many iconic elements of Hong Kong, he chose the Star Ferry as the main theme because it holds collective memories for several generations. As things in Hong Kong irreversibly and rapidly change or disappear, the Star Ferry in Wong’s paintings takes flight into the interstellar, transforming into a spaceship that gazes back at Hong Kong from the universe. In doing so, it reflects on some of the vanishing aspects, perhaps providing a sense of detachment or even solace.

黃進曦是一位風景畫家，平日經常四處寫生，過往為香港留下不少倩影。他到處行山，經歷大自然，再把他的經歷透過畫作帶給觀眾。我們活在一個城市裏面，但那只是香港一個很小的一部分。這次展覽中的《日蝕下的友誼》、《畫家與大浪》、《露營的另一天》等，都展現了香港較鮮為人知的一面。往日黃不喜歡香港高樓林立的景致，但當他到外國寫生時，駭然發現自己竟不懂得畫那裏的風景，相反香港的風景卻一直記著，有一份熟悉，甚至會使他記掛。此後，他便開始接受，即使有些風景不美，即使畫高樓時依然覺得痛苦，但無論城市或是大自然的景觀，仍然會一起出現在他的作品裏。

Wong Chun Hei is a landscape painter who often sketches outdoors, capturing many beautiful scenes of Hong Kong in the past. He ventures into the mountains, immersing himself in nature, and then translates his experiences into artworks for the audience. Although we live in a city, it is just a small part of Hong Kong. The pieces in this exhibition such as “Friendship under Solar Eclipse,” “The Painter and the Wave,” and “The Next Day of Camping” showcase lesser-known aspects of Hong Kong.

In the past, Wong didn’t particularly enjoy painting the city’s skyscraper-filled skyline. However, during his sketching trips abroad, he was startled to find himself struggling to capture foreign landscapes, while Hong Kong’s scenes remained vividly in his memory, evoking familiarity and even longing. Since then, he has come to accept that although some landscapes may not be conventionally beautiful, and even though he may find it challenging to paint skyscrapers, both urban and natural landscapes continue to find their place in his artworks.

不少畫作中的超現實元素，其實是由畫家在寫生的時候沒有涵蓋到的地方所演變而來。黃進曦形容過程好似中國山水畫的創作。當風景中有空白的地方，他便嘗試回憶當時的環境，但記憶往往不準確，便靠想像去填補，因此他會思考用甚麼主題來畫那些空白。這過程又像玩模型或砌LEGO，你選擇如何演繹那個風景和地方，便會有不同重組的方法。

Many surreal elements in Wong Chun Hei’s paintings actually stem from areas he didn’t cover while sketching. He describes the process as akin to creating Chinese landscape paintings. When there are blank spaces in the scenery, he tries to recall the environment at that time, but memory is often inaccurate. Therefore, he relies on imagination to fill in the gaps, pondering what theme to use for those blank spaces. This process is like playing with models or building LEGO, where your choices in interpreting the landscape and place lead to different methods of reassembly.

展覽的視角從太空逐漸放大，拉近至香港的山脈、夜景、沙灘，再到畫家的工作室。最後的作品是黃進曦的自畫像。戴著VR眼鏡的他，正在觀望星空。那麼我們在展覽中所看見的星空，那些香港的景色，究竟是真實，還是虛幻的呢？

The exhibition’s perspective gradually zooms in from the space, getting closer to Hong Kong’s mountains, night view, beaches, and finally, the artist’s studio. The last piece is a self-portrait of Wong Chun Hei. He is depicted wearing VR goggles, gazing at the stars. So, are the starry skies and Hong Kong landscapes we see in the exhibition real or illusory?

Date: 2024.3.23 – 4.20
Venue: 安全口畫廊｜ Gallery Exit
香港仔田灣興和街25號大生工業大廈3樓｜3/F, Blue Box Factory Building, 25 Hing Wo St, Aberdeen