Held from April 11 to 27, 2025 at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, the Fusion Final exhibition marked the triumphant conclusion of the Arkad Foundation's visionary Fusion project. Launched in Seravezza, Italy, in 2021, this pioneering initiative united ten sculptors—five from Hong Kong and five from diverse countries working in Italy—to create 36 collaborative sculptures over three phases. By blending the enduring white marble of the Apuan Alps with Hong Kong's vibrant hardwoods, paired artists bridged cultural and geographic divides, crafting works that embody coexistence and harmony. From remote exchanges during the pandemic to hands-on collaboration at the 2024 Fusion 3 symposium, the project illuminated art's power to foster trust and connection.

In this Q&A, Violet Shum (Hong Kong) and Flavia Robalo (Argentina/Italy) share their reflections on their inspiring partnership. They explore the challenges and joys of remote and in-person collaboration, the dynamic interplay of marble and wood in their joint work, I am a River, and the personal sculptures they presented in Fusion Final. Their insights reveal how art transcends boundaries, intertwining individual stories and cultural perspectives into a unified, evocative narrative.

Q&A with Violet Shum

Q.⁠ ⁠How did you and Flavia Robalo navigate the remote collaboration during the early phases of the Fusion project, and what strategies did you use to align your artistic visions despite the physical and cultural distance?

A: In the early stages of the Fusion project, I felt a bit hesitant, as transforming the stone artworks sent by others meant altering their original creative intentions. Additionally, Flavia and I didn't speak each other's languages, which made us somewhat apprehensive about potential communication barriers. However, I later realized that we had many similarities in our previous artistic concepts. Our communication transcended words, almost like a form of telepathy. Our collaboration did not involve any specific strategies; rather, the strategy was simply to do our best in our respective parts. Even though we couldn't meet in person, our connection grew closer and was not affected by cultural differences or physical distance.

Q.⁠ ⁠Using wood as your primary material in Hong Kong, how did you interpret or complement Flavia's work with marble, and what did this contrast between materials teach you about the fusion of your artistic approaches?

A: We rarely see works that combine two different traditional materials—wood and stone—since they possess distinctly different qualities. In this Fusion art project, these two materials symbolize the meeting of two different cultures. Wood is often viewed as a symbol of softness, warmth, and vitality, while stone represents strength, durability, and stability. I believe that combining these two materials can create a unique visual effect while also conveying rich cultural significance. For example, in Chinese culture, the Tai Chi symbol represents the integration of opposing yet complementary forces, forming a harmonious whole. Therefore, bringing wood and stone together can symbolize the interaction between two different but complementary strengths.

Q.⁠ ⁠The Fusion 3 symposium in Italy marked your first opportunity to work directly with Flavia. What was the most surprising or rewarding aspect of this in-person collaboration, and how did it shape the sculpture you created together?

A: I felt quite excited to be able to create personally with Flavia in Seravezza, the famous marble-producing area. It allowed us to deeply understand each other's cultural backgrounds and personal stories. Meeting in person not only dispelled our fears regarding language, but through body language and familiar visual expressions, we were surprised at how smoothly we could communicate. By integrating our experiences, we established a connection, and this time, with a deeper fusion, our relationship felt like that of old friends reuniting after a long separation. During our discussions, we were often moved by the ideas proposed by one another. In the actual creation process, we first used clay to pre-form our sculptures. The final piece depicts a little girl bathing in a stream, washed by waters flowing through the mountains. Through this purification, everything that does not belong to her returns to the river and then to the ocean. In fact, each of us is like a river, experiencing separations but ultimately destined to reunite.

I believe the greatest gain from this Fusion project is that everyone can share their experiences before we met. Working side by side with materials allowed us to experiment more freely and make spontaneous decisions. This collaboration significantly shaped our sculpture, as we combined our skills and intuitions in real time. With immediate feedback yielding positive results, we ultimately presented a work that moved both of us.

Q.⁠ ⁠In the Fusion Final exhibition, you present a personal sculpture alongside the collaborative works. How does this piece express your individual perspective, and how does it relate to the broader narrative of cultural and artistic connection in the Fusion project?

A: My works primarily use elements of nature to explore the symbiotic relationship between humans and the natural world, revealing the subtle states of human interactions. In the final exhibition of the Fusion project, my personal piece, inspired by marine life, is a marble sculpture shaped like a shell. It reflects the changes of place, time, and space, subtly hinting at a sense of longing. This Fusion project perfectly aligns with the theme of reconnecting different places, times, and spaces. Guided by this concept, I participated in the project, which focuses on transformation. My work emphasizes how personal experiences connect with different cultures, linking to the broader narrative of the Fusion project.

Q&A with Flavia Robalo

Q.⁠ ⁠Can you describe the experience of collaborating remotely with Violet Shum during the first two phases of the Fusion project, given the pandemic restrictions and the distance between Italy and Hong Kong? What were some of the challenges you faced, and how did you navigate them?

A: The first phase of the Fusion project was one of getting to know each other. Before exchanging words with Violet, I learned about her work; her organic language, very close to nature, struck me. It gave me the sensation of feeling the wind and water in her creations; they were seeds or shells, there was life in them, they moved and transported. I think that of all the artists in Fusion, her work spoke to me the most.

So we began to talk, just the two of us, through chat, not much, but enough. There was no need for many words; we began to get to know each other with great respect. It was the same with the sculpture. When I held her first piece of wood in my hands, I felt that it was a ship with many little windows and that some birds lived inside. Their strength made this big shell move beyond the shore... to the other side of the horizon.

Therefore, I built these birds, tangled up in the little holes of this huge shell, or barely peeking out of the openings, as if sleeping in their burrow - a home, that home that keeps us safe. We were beginning to emerge from the great trauma of COVID, beginning to peer out into the world, and somehow we had to travel, if not beyond, then with our imaginations. This was the first encounter with Violet: touching our creations, almost caressing them, as one approaches an unknown puppy... testing the boundaries. The challenge was to like each other, and we did.

Q.⁠ ⁠Working with the white marble of the Apuan Alps, how did you incorporate or respond to Violet's use of wood in your collaborative sculptures, and what did this material dialogue reveal about your respective artistic and cultural contexts?

A: For me, wood was not an unknown material; I have been working with it for years, and along with marble, they are the king and queen of my work. So the idea of creating pieces that combined both materials was not difficult because I usually play this game with my creations. I wasn't afraid of the combination; I was more afraid of interfering with a work that had its own life and was already beautiful as it was. Instead of enriching it, I worried that I might take away its beauty. I thought the same could happen to Violet, so I was concerned about leaving space for my marble— a question mark, an unfinished line that could invite Violet to continue from there.

And that's what happened; from there, she continued with the wood, wrapping the marble in a veil of lightness, elevating it. In the same way, I used the holes in her wooden piece as windows of a house, a ship, a nest, imagining it was inhabited. The idea that united us was the meeting of two worlds that, without knowing each other, imagined one another. We couldn't travel to embrace, but our works could— the embrace remained as a symbol of resilience from COVID, and I think this project intrinsically represents that. We no longer think about it, but when something is forbidden to us, it becomes even more imprinted in our desires.

Q.⁠ ⁠The Fusion 3 symposium in 2024 allowed you and Violet to work side by side for the first time. How did this in-person collaboration influence the creative process and the final sculpture compared to the remote phases?

A: And finally, the moment came to create the work together, side by side. By this point, we already knew each other; the sweetness and respect that Violet emanates made this a profoundly rich experience. I knew it would be easy and beautiful, but the words remained few due to my lack of proficiency in English. However, we made an effort, and it was not at all a hindrance to working together and creating an idea together. It emerged almost without needing to talk about it at length.

The idea was to continue with the themes of previous works but starting from the drawings and the initial sketch made by our four hands, two heads, and two hearts. It was wonderful; we didn't disturb each other, we each respected the other's pace, and we both knew the result could not disappoint us. Unlike the other works, this one had a common sense; while the others were studied in two different phases, this one was developed together from the beginning. The work had to contain both creations as if they were a single material. The origin was different; there was a project, and we had to execute it. In the other phases, a pre-existing project arrived, and we had to intervene, modify, change its destiny, change its meaning.

In this case, the meaning had already been given from the start, thought out together, designed together; one part could not exist without the other, they complemented each other. It was a new experience for me, unique, fun, a personal and artistic growth—sharing, leaving space, dialoguing, accepting, helping, and allowing oneself to be helped! A true dance.

Q.⁠ ⁠Your personal sculpture is included in the Fusion Final exhibition alongside the collaborative works. How does this piece reflect your individual artistic identity, and in what ways does it connect to the themes of fusion and cross-cultural exchange explored in the project?

A: I chose my personal work displayed in the Fusion exhibition because it is made of marble and also because it is not far from our collaborative pieces. As I mentioned at the beginning, I often work with wind and water, two elements that I frequently use as symbols of journey and movement. In this piece, she is seated, almost hypnotically, as if she is immersed in water, but in a sea made of leaves. She is still in the nature that grows around her, an image contrary to flowing through space, yet there is a flow of time; nature does not stop, but it can make us stop.

There is always a rhythm in things, and if we resist, that rhythm breaks. The only way to flow together is to let go, much like the paired dance of Fusion—learning to communicate, to avoid stepping on each other's toes, to leave space, and to combine our abilities to create beauty.