When it comes to Chinese Gongbi painting, we often think of meticulously detailed “landscapes, flowers, and birds” or portraits. This style of painting emphasizes details and strives for lifelike representation, exuding elegance and solemnity, which can be seen as unattainable. However, as this traditional painting technique has evolved over time and encountered diverse cultures, what kind of variations have emerged?
Whether you step into the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Museum of History, the M+ Visual Culture Museum, or any small or large gallery, it is not difficult to discover the contemporary meticulous works of Wilson Shieh. Under his delicate brush, Hong Kong’s iconic buildings are transformed into beautiful clothes, ancient portrait figures wear avant-garde seasonal clothing, and various representatives of Hong Kong popular culture are recreated in classic styles, making his unique creativity endlessly captivating.
Shi Jiahao’s creations are based on traditional Chinese meticulous painting, and then extend to forms such as sketching, oil painting, collage, and installation. He likes to use local culture as a background, and his works are inseparable from characters and clothing. Behind the relaxed and humorous works, there are hidden profound reflections on identity, gender, and the issue of conserving local culture.
Coinciding with JPS Gallery’s recent solo exhibition “Wilson: Fragments 2008 – 2022,” which encompasses several of his iconic series, showcasing the artist’s creative journey over the past 14 years. This episode of “Art City Travelogue” will follow Wilson into his contemporary meticulous world, not only revisiting various beloved classic series but also exploring what new works he has brought for the audience.
“My personality is not suitable for those bold and free-spirited creations.”
In addition to requiring delicate and exquisite brushwork, meticulous brush painting also requires patience. It is said that a person’s character is somewhat reflected in their work, and looking at the intricate and detailed brushstrokes, you can tell that the painter must be a meticulous person. Wilson shared that when he was studying art in the past, his classmates were not very interested in detailed techniques. He laughed and said, “When we were young, our classmates all wanted to be impressive, using bold brushstrokes and large formats to express themselves. But I couldn’t control those bold brushstrokes, you have to have that kind of carefree personality to do it. But every time I painted a freehand painting, my teacher would say, ‘Shi Jiahao, your paintings are too restrained, too piled up.’ So I thought that my personality was not suitable for those big, free-spirited creations.” However, the criticism at the time actually helped him understand his own direction and develop a unique style.
Under the requirements of the course, Wilson also began to learn about the themes of “Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum” and Tang Dynasty women’s clothing in traditional Chinese painting. During the long process of copying, he began to appreciate the delicate depiction of ancient artists. However, in modern times, there are no women in traditional clothing, and the subject matter is no longer limited to plants in the garden. This inspired him to think, “What if I use this technique to paint modern themes?” As a result, he began to use traditional media such as rice paper and silk to paint modern popular subjects.
Since then, Wilson has been exploring the themes of fashion innovation, embarking on a journey of contemporary brushwork creation. From the wide range of subjects in Wilson’s works, it can be seen that the content covers gender, clothing, Hong Kong films, music, and a series of Hong Kong pop culture symbols, all of which come naturally but are also full of ingenuity.
To avoid falling into clichés, Wilson always designs each collection with care, such as his highly acclaimed “Architectural Series,” where he transforms iconic buildings in Central, such as the Bank of China, IFC, and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, into innovative and trendy fashion pieces. The towering skyscrapers are transformed into elegant evening gowns, and the graceful “gentlemen and ladies” exude a classical charm like models on the runway, leaving a lasting impression.
“This exhibition showcases works from the past 14 years, which is a small retrospective for me.”
In the past two years, I have seen Wilson’s works in different exhibition venues, such as the “Not a Fashion Store!” special exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the “Ink City” exhibition at Tai Kwun, the “Hong Kong: Here and Beyond” exhibition at the M+ Museum, and even the joint exhibition “Men’s Doubles” with Tse Yim On at PMQ last year. Whenever it comes to exhibitions related to Hong Kong’s visual cultural stories, he is definitely a regular. However, there are very few retrospective exhibitions that cover Wilson’s different creations. This rare return to the gallery, with his “Stone Ka-ho: Miscellaneous 2008-2022,” showcases his iconic series from the past 14 years as well as some new works, giving the audience a feast for the eyes.
“Miscellaneous” as the name suggests is a hodgepodge of works, which also echoes the painting “Autumn Fairy Tale” in the exhibition. This film is set in New York, and Chow Yun-fat’s character, “Chuan Tou Chi,” is a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. At that time, “Chop Suey” was popular in the North American region, which refers to American-style Chinese food where different meats, vegetables, and eggs are stir-fried together. This exhibition is also a gathering of different works by artists, so it is fittingly named as such.
“The Autumn Fairy Tale” recreates a classic scene from a Hong Kong romance film, where Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung were dining in a restaurant and Chow Yun-fat pretended to pour tea while eavesdropping on their conversation. This amusing scene was captured by Wilson in his artwork, and even the gallery was transformed to resemble the restaurant scene, allowing viewers to become “tea guests” and take photos, showcasing the artist’s creativity. He expressed his hope that through this special installation, he could evoke shared memories of Hong Kong people.
“My works inherently contain many contradictions, such as the ancient and the modern, the East and the West, allowing them to possess both delicacy and playfulness.”
And in addition to some well-known Hong Kong classic film and television works, this batch of works also covers different periods and categories of local popular culture. In the past, people always thought that art was solemn and elegant, and should not be compared with popular culture. But Wilson believes that in order to create a unique artistic language for Hong Kong, something that connects with the audience should be done. The meticulous technique originates from Chinese tradition, but if it sticks to the rules, the audience will be relatively limited. So he combines elements of ancient and modern, East and West with a humorous artistic language.
He said, “My works originally contain many contradictions, and I deliberately put them together. Bringing together different cultures and such a wide span of time, in fact, is also a way of creating culture. In history, many cultures have lost their vitality, but when you bring them together, you can create a new cultural identity.”
Right: “A Man and a Woman” oil on canvas (Set 1/2) 41 x 51 cm 2010 Shi Jiahao
It is with this innovative spirit that Wilson boldly mixes and matches traditional Chinese painting with popular culture themes. The majority of his works revolve around people as narrative subjects, which naturally extends to include elements of fashion. He believes that clothing not only serves aesthetic purposes, but also carries meanings related to design, social class, and culture. For this exhibition, he takes inspiration from the nostalgic toy “paper dolls” that were popular in the 1960s and 1970s, creating works such as “Four Seasons Women,” “Four Seasons Men,” “One Man One Woman,” and pieces related to “school uniforms for girls.”
In the “Four Seasons” series, the artist pairs different hairstyles, accessories, and clothing for the same portrait doll, showcasing unique and creative designs that reflect the artist’s design sensibility. As the seasons change, only time passes by. Wilson says, “Originally, this was a concept we used in fashion consumption, but I incorporated it into my artwork, and ‘Four Seasons’ became something connected to culture and time.”
And in “The Great Unity of Girls in the Universe,” Wilson extracted the school uniforms worn by his two sisters, cousin, and cousin during their school days from his memory and drew a “girl’s school uniform guide.” He also said that there are over a hundred different styles of school uniforms in local schools, which is astonishing. He feels that although Hong Kong is small, it hides many interesting things that we usually overlook.
He said, “After doing creative work, I realized that we take many things in Hong Kong for granted and don’t think they have any special characteristics, but in fact, they are very unique in the world. After the creation, it takes on another appearance and is passed down. If the work has the opportunity to be passed down for a longer time, future people will be able to find some records about Hong Kong from the world of art. Rather than just being a creator, Wilson is more like a guardian in the city, discovering beauty with his eyes and then sealing various cultural characteristics in art with ingenuity and creativity.”
“This exhibition has stirred up many people’s memories, and everyone is sharing some common experiences.”
Continuing the “Change Clothes Doll” series, Wilson applies this concept to representative figures of local popular culture. From the legendary Chinese writer Eileen Chang to the classic film stars Chow Yun-fat, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, and even the queen of songs Teresa Teng, they are portrayed in various iconic images. In the process of creation, Wilson needs to undergo extensive research and verification.
Right: “Love in a Fallen City (Zhang Ailing Series)” colored pencils, cardboard, collage 60 x 40 cm 2009 Shi Jiahao
Taking the Zhang Ailing series as an example, she herself pays great attention to the depiction of clothing in her works. Therefore, Wilson combines her real-life photos, the clothes she wore during her lifetime, and the film styles adapted from her works to paint different images of “Grandma Master”.
Popular culture is fleeting, but what withstands the test of time and influences generation after generation can be called historical culture. When Teresa Teng’s album “Songs of the Island Nation” became popular in Southeast Asia, Wilson used his brush to redraw her ever-changing image. In film and television works, characters like Hui Man-keung (played by Chow Yun-fat) in “The Bund” and Su Li-zhen (played by Maggie Cheung) and Chow Mo-wan (played by Tony Leung) in “In the Mood for Love” also represent the cultural symbols of Hong Kong, marking a golden age of culture.
And in the “Cassette” series, he brings a selection of lyrics by Wong Jim, which includes popular music from the 70s to the 90s, featuring familiar names such as Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Sam Hui, and Roman Tam. The songs cover a wide range of genres and can be said to represent the golden age of Hong Kong pop music. In addition to Wilson’s personal experience of making cassette tapes, the work also showcases his musical taste.
The “memory killer” is a powerful force that triggers the collective memories of many contemporary viewers. Memories that have not been touched for a long time will fade away with time, and Wilson hopes to visualize these memories. He says, “When I transform these memories into easily digestible images, it’s like leading many people to retrace the experiences they have had in the past, which resonates with many viewers.”
“I am currently engaged in creative work that aims to create something new while also preserving existing culture and giving it new life.”
As the saying goes, “old is better than new,” and of course, classics are worth cherishing. But does that mean that the changes in the city will always pale in comparison to the past? How does Wilson himself view the development of local culture?
He believes that Hong Kong is small and fast-paced, and many old things are inevitably replaced by new ones. It was only in recent years that more people began to awaken a sense of conservation and value old cultural heritage. He said, “When we create, we start from this direction. Even if it is something old, I inject new feelings into it to add freshness and give it new life.” There is no clear boundary between the ancient and the trendy in the world of artistic creation. Just like popular culture, it is actually a cyclical phenomenon.
The so-called classic works are actually refined over time. Wilson has created many classic series in his over 20 years of creative journey. This exhibition spans nearly half of his career, from 2008 to the present. We are all curious about how his creative style and direction have changed over the past decade.
Wilson admits that he has been exploring all these years and feels like he’s been in a cycle, turning around and around. He feels that there hasn’t been a clear linear progress in the past decade or so because there are some series or themes that are ongoing. In terms of his creative attitude, Wilson is always striving for improvement. Every time he revisits his old works, he feels that he can add new elements to make them richer. He is not satisfied with letting his works stay at a certain stage, but instead approaches them with a mindset of “it can still be more perfect” and continuously improves his creations. He openly states that the dissemination of artwork is actually slower than we imagine. From exhibiting the works, attracting audiences, to waiting for feedback, it is a lengthy process. However, he still hopes to continue walking further on this path.
From exploring a new path in meticulous painting, which was considered unconventional in popular culture, to having his works collected by major art museums and galleries today, “Shi Jiahao” has become an important symbol of local art. However, Wilson remains humble and says, “In fact, I am still in the process of figuring out how to make more people understand the cultural significance behind it, and this will take more time to test. I still need to continue holding exhibitions and wait for the audience’s feedback to verify whether these creations are feasible.”
At the end of the interview, we are all curious about what the current stage of creation means to a mature artist. Wilson laughed and said, “Being a visual artist like us in Hong Kong is actually difficult. I have been a full-time artist for over 20 years, and a lot of that time was spent working alone in the studio. I have experienced loneliness. Many things are faced alone, so it has always been difficult, both mentally and emotionally. Sometimes when the work doesn’t meet expectations, I doubt myself, but after a while, I overcome it and continue. I am always in this state, even at my age.”
I just realized that for any stage of a creator, instability, questioning, and breakthroughs are like an infinite cycle. However, it is through experiencing these psychological ups and downs that the growth on the creative path can be embodied. Finally, he revealed to us that there will be a brand new exhibition next year, and he will bring some new works. Everyone, stay tuned! If you are interested in this exhibition, you may want to visit the gallery to appreciate Wilson’s carefully crafted works.
“Wilson Shieh: Chop Suey 2008 – 2022”
Date: October 28, 2022 to November 27, 2022
Time: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Location: JPS Gallery, 2/F, Shop 218-219, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Producer: Mimi Kong
Interview & text: Ruby Yiu
Videography: Andy Lee, Kason Tam
Photography: Kris To
Video Editor: Andy Lee
Designer: Kris To
Location: JPS Gallery
Special Thanks: Wilson Shieh
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Producer: Mimi Kong
Interview & text: Ruby Yiu
Videography: Andy Lee, Kason Tam
Photography: Kris To
Video Editor: Andy Lee
Designer: Kris To
Location: JPS Gallery
Special Thanks: Wilson Shieh
