Chan Kwan-lok: Threading Oceans
陳鈞樂《海歸線》

May 12 - 30, 2021

Grotto SKW - 2/f, East 17, No. 17 Main Street East, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong
11am - 6 pm, Monday - Saturday (Closed on Sundays and public holidays)
Enquiry: info@grottofineart.com / +852 51181770

Grotto Fine Art is pleased to present the solo exhibition  “Threading Oceans”  by Chan Kwan-Lok.

The artist used exhibition to recapture a lost deep-sea diving.  The images and anecdotes were created from different fragments of his recollection of the ocean, leading to an irregular and surrealistic underwater mindmap. 

We entered the deepest part of the ocean through a narrow cave, surrounded by giant underwater creatures and swamp of fishes, eels and skeletons of the deceased.  The ocean floor has its own universe, filled with vitality and resilience - corals hidden within crevasse, myriads of sand dunes and mysterious rock formations.  It possesses a unique ecology where all organic and natural elements intertwine.  Such interdependence is the foundation of the ocean's balance and stability. 

The ocean that artist once knew sadly is no longer the same.  Time has taken its toll and with changes in the environment and human activities, our ocean has been altered forever.  While its creatures and various life forms continue to fight for survival, their efforts have proven futile.  Many will likely forget what lies beneath as time passes, letting these memories become myths or mere history.  Perhaps there is no difference between past and present.  What happens today will eventually turn into tomorrow's relics.   

This exhibition is inspired by Japanese comic director Kon Satoshi’s novel.  It tells the story and legend of "Mermaid".  The artist want to bring forth the mystery of the sea and let the audience to experience this vivid world and its magic.  Using pure lines and contours, he painted objectively what he envisioned as well as his imagination of it.   The most personal work is a long scroll painted from the artist’s childhood.  Reconnecting with it, he return to his initial love for the ocean and the ultimate freedom of creation.

嘉圖現代藝術欣然呈獻陳鈞樂個展《海歸線》

這是一趟失落的深海潛水。旅程中幻想跨時間的維度，以過去不同視角的海洋殘片拼湊成一幅不完整的地圖。

入口由海底的洞穴開始，裡面藏着海底巨物、壯觀魚群、神秘的圖騰、離奇的骷髏殘骸。海域內包含千萬樣生態，即使珊瑚、碎石或沙粒下都能成為一個宇宙。這樣的宇宙間一切存在都有其連繫，在相互關連中共同構成一個整體。

隨着時間的推移，大海逐漸被侵蝕，海洋生物盡力抵抗，卻徒勞無功，海洋本來的面目或許已經截然不同。時間過去令人遺忘這裡的一切，成為歷史或神話。過去和現在或者沒有區別，當下也終歸變成未來的遺址。

《海歸線》是日本動畫導演今敏的首部長篇漫畫的名字，故事圍繞神秘的「海人」傳說，這次展覽將這種對海洋「神秘」的聯想延續，以線條表現自己觀察和想像的大海面貌，同時展出年幼時首張畫的海洋長卷，希望回到對大海情意結和自由創作的狀態。