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As of tomorrow, Jaffa Lam is no longer the academic head of Hong Kong Art School (HKAS). It's a place she's called home for the last 24 years, where she began as a part-time technician at the sculpture studio. She taught her final class last Thursday.In the same week, she made appearances at Art Central and Art Basel 2025, where her Mobile Wisdom was on display – a rainbow coloured bookshelf-cum-hammock made of recycled umbrella. Last weekend, she traveled to her exhibition in Shenzhen – her first solo museum show in over a decade featuring a handful of her residency projects from the last two decades.&nbsp;While colleagues lament her departure, Jaffa is eager to resume her role solely as an artist, free to continue her life-long mission of making art with marginal groups and free from the corporate duties that rewarded her with a stable salary to support her late mother's hefty medical bills. Ambitiously, she also wanted to throw herself into the deep end and see if her cross-disciplinary sculptures would sink or float in a city where they are scantily collected or understood.<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/20221012_A_Xjaffa12359_b616881fd1.jpg" alt="20221012AXjaffa12359.jpg"><figcaption>Jaffa’s ”Chasing an Elusive Nature” in 2022 at Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Hong Kong. Photo courtesy of Jaffa Lam</figcaption></figure>At 52 years old, Jaffa is still a rebel and dare-devil at heart.Though Jaffa's name is no stranger amongst corporations, museums, exhibitions, art festivals and artist residencies from Denmark to France, Germany to Japan, she only sold her first gallery piece at the age of 49 in a group show at Axel Vervoordt – serendipitously a year before she'd vow to "burn all the art pieces" and likely give up her art career had they remained unappreciated, collecting dust in her studio in Fo Tan."I wanted to burn them all in front of the Hong Kong Museum of Art because they never take my work," she laughs, half-jokingly.<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/20221012_A_Xjaffa12402_7acaf1b5c3.jpg" alt="20221012AXjaffa12402.jpg"><figcaption>Jaffa’s ”Chasing an Elusive Nature” in 2022 at Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Hong Kong. Photo courtesy of Jaffa Lam</figcaption></figure>The positive response from the group show saw a solo exhibition, also at the Wong Chuk Hang-based gallery, in 2022. Amidst her signature pieces made from upcycled wood and transformed industrial waste, Jaffa deliberately kept a gallery wall riddled with marks where "really expensive paintings" previously hung. After the exhibition, she pleaded to remove and include the wall as a part of the collection. Understandably, the staff brushed her off: what was she thinking?Then, gallery director Boris Vervoordt visited: he looked at the wall, toyed with her outrageous request for a few minutes and, much to the staff's surprise, said yes. The wall currently sits in Axel Vervoordt's archives while a work from the show – A Piece of Good Water III – found its home in M+ museum."What can I say, I am a rebel: I like to challenge people and institutions," says Jaffa.Such clout to go against the tides is the undercurrent of Jaffa's life. It peeled her away from her study of Chinese calligraphy and painting during her Bachelor of Arts, after a senior had told her she must learn under a master's tutelage for three decades before she could make a name for herself. Impatient, she shifted to Chinese rubbings, and, in the process of making its slabs, contemporary art.<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/jaffalam_1691167155_3162061744933816920_1592519221_e82c00ccff.jpg" alt="jaffalam_1691167155_3162061744933816920_1592519221.jpg"><figcaption>Photo from Instagram @jaffalam</figcaption></figure>The Bet that Changed Her Life One night after she landed in New York for what was a predominantly research trip in 2007 – seven years after attaining her Master of Fine Arts and Postgraduate Diploma in Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong – she found respite at a Fujianese restaurant that served food from the region where she called home prior to the age of 12. Feeling nostalgic, she struck up a conversation with the owner, who couldn't fathom the possibility of a petite lady from his hometown as a successful artist."'People from Fujian don't become artists', he said," recalls Jaffa. "He'd believe me only if I showed in Chelsea (New York's art hub and home of the Gagosian Gallery)."She won the bet in just five months' time; and as a thank-you gift for the owner's motivation, she custom-made a few pieces for the restaurant. One of the most notable was a lit-up neon sign that read "we cook art here". Though the Chinese restaurant is now a cafe and the owner is long gone, the experience bookended her search for the kind of artist she had wanted to be: one that doesn't just work for communities, but with them to make art that bears meaning and connection &nbsp;– elements she, till this day, still value much more than pocketing big bucks.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/cookart01_7ddba21d74.jpg" alt="cookart01.jpg"><figcaption>Jaffa’s gift to a Fujianese restaurant after making a bet with the owner. Photo courtesy of Jaffa Lam</figcaption></figure>Such was her groundbreaking debut in Art Basel 2023's Encounters section – a 14-metre canopy of recycled umbrella fabric that's anchored onto six sculptures of industrial trolleys-cum-chairs. Titled Trolley Party, the piece was done in partnership with the craftswomen of the Hong Kong Women's Workers Association and highlights themes of unseen labour, identity and collectiveness of the city.The new-found spotlight pleased Jaffa, but not as much as seeing the children of the craftswomen playing under the mammoth piece that their mothers helped to create.<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/ABHK_23_EN_2_Axel1721_Kitmin_Lee_978aad3b0e.jpg" alt="ABHK23-EN2-Axel1721KitminLee.jpg"><figcaption>Jaffa’s “Trolley Party” at Art Basel 2023. Photo courtesy of Jaffa Lam</figcaption></figure>Admittedly, her motivation to work with varied communities stems from her trying childhood. After leaving a home of natural beauty in Fujian for Hong Kong in 1985, she and her family of four lived in an illegal structure on a rooftop in Kwun Tong's industrial area, where crime and discrimination were routine amongst new immigrants struggling with Cantonese. She was bullied in school and her parents were almost always working. To contribute, she took a cash-in-hand job at a garment factory, where she cut loose threads off the finished clothing, sometimes earning less than HK$1 per dozen pieces. Since she was underaged, she was shooed to hide whenever officers from the labour department came to conduct checks."The discrimination really hit me," says Jaffa. "Making art with these communities and seeing the women and the children realize their success at an event they'd otherwise never attend really helped release my anger and trauma."&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/IMG_9634_1e9c8c0650.jpg" alt="IMG_9634.jpg"><figcaption>Jaffa’s “Seek Your Mountain” installation in Fujiyoshida city, Japan. Photo courtesy of Jaffa Lam</figcaption></figure>Despite her success, she still laments the limited power of artists in society without the money to spread their messages. While she's fortunate the galleries she's worked with aren't hooked on sales figures, she's not naive to the challenges of selling and understanding sizable sculptures in Hong Kong; but she's here to make the fight, free from the financial stability she's enjoyed for the past 24 years."People think I'm leaving HKAS because I've earned enough money, but that's far from the case. I want to test myself and the market: I've given myself a five-year timeline since selling my first piece in 2022, so we'll see."

Joyce Yip

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Artist for the People: Jaffa Lam

Sophia Hotung exists in the spaces between.From a young age, she has straddled two worlds; neither fully Asian nor entirely white, she self-identifies as a Eurasian “egg”—white on the outside, yellow on the inside. Living with chronic illness, she often feels “not disabled enough” to receive accommodations, yet too unwell enough to conform to society’s expectations of productivity. This duality permeates geographically, as Sophia splits her time between Hong Kong—a city layered with memories and meaning—and San Francisco, a city slippery with unfamiliarity but ripe with opportunity.Sophia’s identity defies categorization—much like her hometown of Hong Kong, where modern skyscrapers rise against centuries-old traditions, creating a city fractured between past and present. This constant negotiation of identities has shaped not only who Sophia is, but also how she views the world. Through her collection The Hong Konger, which reimagines The New Yorker magazine covers, Sophia transforms stories of belonging, resilience, and identity into vibrant works of art. Behind every piece lies a deeply personal narrative about grappling with chronic illness, defying societal expectations, and embracing her multifaceted heritage. For Sophia, art is beyond expression; it is a bridge that connects her inner world to the broader human experience.A Eurasian Perspective: Navigating Dual Identities Born into the storied Hotung family—a name synonymous with Hong Kong’s history—Sophia sees herself as an egg: “White on the outside, yellow on the inside.” Growing up in a multicultural household, she never felt fully Chinese nor entirely Western, creating a sense of duality that has shaped her understanding of what it means to be a Hong Konger.“I didn't realize that I looked white to people outside of my family until I was about 13 years old,” Sophia explains. “I went abroad, and no one believed I was from Hong Kong…It’s very weird when who you think you are as a person doesn't line up with what the entire world thinks you are.” For years, she navigated this liminal existence, feeling like an outsider everywhere she went. In England, despite blending in physically, she struggled to connect culturally; in America, she bonded with other diasporic Asians over shared experiences of displacement.After spending years grappling with her identity, Sophia has chosen to adopt a philosophy centered on connection rather than universal appeal. “At the end of the day, I just need one person to buy it—if this artwork reflects a memory or an experience or a facet of someone's identity, whether they feel like an outsider or insider, that's fine,” she says. “I don’t need to appeal to everyone.”<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/signal_2025_03_24_125128_007_26a3bbd544.jpeg" alt="signal-2025-03-24-125128_007.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo courtesy of Sophia Hotung</figcaption></figure>From Tech Analyst to Full-Time Artist: An Unexpected Pivot Prior to becoming an artist, Sophia worked as a tech analyst—a career path that feels worlds apart from her current life. She labels the transition an “accident”: an unplanned career change thrust upon her by unforeseen circumstances. Diagnosed with autoimmune diseases at 16, Sophia spent years battling undiagnosed symptoms while pushing herself academically and professionally. By 26, she found herself bedridden and unemployed, grappling with several chronic illnesses.“I felt like I couldn't do anything anymore, and it made me very frustrated,” she admits. “It made me feel very creatively unable to express myself.” During this dark period, she received an iPad as a gift for Christmas. Initially intended as a distraction, it became a lifeline. Using Procreate, Sophia taught herself to draw, starting with simple sketches and gradually developing her signature style.Sophia’s idea to reimagine The New Yorker covers to reflect Hong Kong’s quirks and complexities dates back to her university days. “The idea was quite old. One of the things I've always done is keep an idea log—if I ever have an idea for something, I put it in the book,” she explains. “And so that went in the book, and eventually I drew it.”One early piece featured a girl staring at a lavish Chinese banquet, her mind conjuring a McDonald’s Happy Meal instead. The image humorously captured Sophia’s experience with celiac disease, which isolates her from cultural staples like dim sum and soy sauce-laden dishes. “Eating is such a huge part of Chinese culture, so it makes me feel frustrated,” she explains. “That feeling of looking out on a huge banquet of abalone and not being able to eat it was in my mind when I created that.”What started as a creative outlet during illness evolved into a full-fledged career. As Sophia continued experimenting with digital art, her reinterpretations of The New Yorker covers gained traction online. Encouraged by the response, Sophia eventually applied to her first art fair, took on commissions, and published her first book.“I think I was faking it till I made it so much that I can't actually remember when I felt like I made it,” she explains. “By the time I had a contract with a gallery and a commission split and money coming in from art sales, I thought, ‘That means I'm a working artist, so I guess that's my job.’”<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/signal_2025_03_24_125128_004_34ed453fb4.jpeg" alt="signal-2025-03-24-125128_004.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo courtesy of Sophia Hotung</figcaption></figure>The Hong Konger Collection: A Love Letter to Home What began as a drawing exercise evolved into The Hong Konger, a series celebrating the city’s idiosyncrasies. From a taxi driver’s windshield cluttered with eleven devices to a swimmer preparing to dive off a high-rise building, each piece reflects Sophia’s humor and keen observation of Hong Kong life, with richer meanings embedded beneath the surface.Take Lion Rock Station, for example, which shows an MTR station perched improbably atop the namesake hill. On the surface, it’s a comical nod to Hong Kong’s urban landscape. But beneath the humor lies a critique of accessibility—or lack thereof. “A lot of MTR stations in Hong Kong are called accessible, but they’re not,” Sophia explains, recalling a recent experience where she had to lug her rollator—a wheeled walking aid—up flights of stairs after an escalater broke down. “These frustrations seep into my work without being overtly stated.”For Sophia, The Hong Konger isn’t just about showcasing Hong Kong’s quirks; it’s about preserving her memories. Every street corner holds significance, whether it’s the hospital where her grandmother was born or the school her grandfather attended decades ago.<blockquote>“Everywhere I go in Hong Kong feels layered,” she muses. “It feels like there's a story, and it feels like I can pull on that to create art.”</blockquote><figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/signal_2025_03_24_125128_003_c240c8adb9.jpeg" alt="signal-2025-03-24-125128_003.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo courtesy of Sophia Hotung</figcaption></figure>Advocacy Through Art: Bridging Creativity and Causes Sophia has made waves not only as an artist, but as an advocate for causes close to her heart: disability rights, women’s empowerment, and representation of Hong Kong in global narratives. Through her company, Pangolin Society, she channels proceeds from her art into funds that support local charities, including organizations like the SPCA, Women’s Foundation, and Equal Justice Hong Kong. Each project is tailored to meet specific needs, ensuring mutual benefit while amplifying the missions of these groups.One standout collaboration was Where’s Wags?, a playful homage to Where’s Waldo . Hidden within the mural were 103 items related to pet inclusivity, raising awareness for the SPCA’s efforts to lobby for more pet-friendly policies. Similarly, her partnership with the Women’s Foundation ventured into the realm of NFTs, generating passive income streams for the charity. These initiatives demonstrate Sophia’s ability to blend creativity with practicality, crafting solutions that resonate with both audiences and beneficiaries.“I wasn't going out of my way to be an advocate—it just sort of happened,” she admits. “I saw a business opportunity that happened to be with charities. I love the sort of causes I work for—these are things I care about.” By blending creativity with practicality, Sophia proves that art can serve both as a tool for personal expression and a force for meaningful change.<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/signal_2025_03_24_125128_002_b47f956663.jpeg" alt="signal-2025-03-24-125128_002.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo courtesy of Sophia Hotung</figcaption></figure>Living with Chronic Illness: Lessons in Resilience Chronic illness remains a defining aspect of Sophia’s life, shaping not only her worldview but also her artistic philosophy. Before accepting her condition, she berated herself relentlessly, striving for perfection despite deteriorating health.“One of the biggest changes mentally for me was to realize being sick doesn't make me a bad person,” she emphasizes. “Disabled people are considered unfortunate or inconvenient or lazy, and it’s really not the case—I think we need to look at the idea of disability a lot more neutrally than we currently do.” This sense of acceptance helped free her from self-imposed guilt, allowing her to embrace sustainability in both life and work.Today, Sophia operates on a flexible schedule, balancing doctor appointments with creative pursuits. Living between Hong Kong and San Francisco affords her the best of both worlds: proximity to her hometown’s inspiration and access to California’s medical resources. Though challenging, this arrangement underscores her adaptability—a trait honed through years of uncertainty.Beyond Legacy: Crafting Identity and Purpose As a descendant of Sir Robert Hotung, Sophia acknowledges the weight of legacy—but she refuses to let it define her. “Growing up, no one ever really flagged it, so I thought it was just a fun fact,” she notes. “But when I was trying to promote myself as an artist, I realized people had a lot of questions about it, and I didn't really know how to handle the dynasty of it all.”Rather than dwell on privilege, Sophia emphasizes action over introspection. Inspired by her mother—a self-made businesswoman who has led by example—she avoids getting caught up in meaningless debates about identity or worth. “Pontificating and philosophizing over abstract ideas like privilege can become a bit self-obsessed and redundant,” she reflects.Instead, Sophia emphasizes a separation of value from productivity by embracing practical steps forward, reminding herself that overthinking these issues can ironically become an unproductive exercise. “Literally no one is thinking of you that much,” she quips, cutting through the noise with refreshing pragmatism.<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/signal_2025_03_24_125128_008_b91944396e.jpeg" alt="signal-2025-03-24-125128_008.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo courtesy of Sophia Hotung</figcaption></figure>Chronic Illness, Resilience, and the Power of Honest Support For those grappling with chronic illness, Sophia acknowledges that there’s no easy answer. “When someone’s in that position, there’s nothing you can say to them—you can’t promise them anything because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” she says. “You can sympathize, but there’s really nothing you can say.”Reflecting on her own journey, Sophia recalls hitting rock bottom at age 25 or 26, confined to her childhood bedroom, convinced her life was over. “I thought, ‘Any job I could do or would want to do requires my body to do things it can’t.’ I felt completely trapped.”Her turning point came unexpectedly—not through a grand epiphany, but through surrender. “I gave up hope and just thought, you know what? Screw it. I'm just gonna be on an iPad all day and watch TV, and I don't care anymore,” she admits. Ironically, this act of letting go became the catalyst for her eventual climb out of despair. “That was when I started to climb out of the hole, without even realizing it.”What Sophia emphasizes most is the importance of knowing that a way forward exists, even if it feels unimaginable at the time. She credits her mother’s unwavering support during her darkest days, urging others to accept help without guilt to free up mental space and ease anxiety. “Once you accept your position, I think it's easier to see more clearly where you can go from there.”Ultimately, Sophia advocates for honesty over forced positivity. “I remember the first time someone said to me, ‘Yeah, it sucks,’” she says. “To have someone recognize and validate that…was huge for me.” This raw acknowledgment of pain, she believes, helps people feel seen and opens the door to healing.Looking Ahead: Completing the Circle With the release of The (Unlikely) Hong Konger, Sophia ties together threads of her story thus far. Featuring 112 artworks—including pieces never before seen—and accompanying anecdotes, &nbsp;the book encapsulates her journey as an artist and storyteller.“It feels complete,” she says proudly.As she continues splitting her time between Hong Kong and San Francisco, Sophia remains committed to amplifying underrepresented voices, using her platform to advocate for causes close to her heart. Each day brings new stories to tell, new challenges to face, and new ways to honor the city—and the identity—that shaped her.<figure class="image"><img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/signal_2025_03_24_125128_005_08eface6c8.jpeg" alt="signal-2025-03-24-125128_005.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo courtesy of Sophia Hotung</figcaption></figure>If Sophia could travel back in time to the initial days when chronic illness brought uncertainty into her life, she knows exactly what she’d tell her younger self: “Everything works out,"—a testament to Sophia’s resilience, adaptability, and faith in the unknown.“My main fear,” she reflects, "was that nothing would ever work out. If I just went back and said, ‘Look, everything works out. Just roll with it,’' I think it would reassure me to some degree.” Today, she often reminds herself of this same truth, operating as though a future version of herself has stepped into the room to say, “Everything works out.”Through her art, advocacy, and unyielding spirit, Sophia shows that existing in the in-between is its own kind of wholeness. Her story is a celebration of complexity—a testament to embracing uncertainty, finding purpose even when life doesn’t go as planned and trusting that, no matter what, everything will work out.

Caroline Tam

English Editor 

Art in the Margins: Sophia Hotung's Story of Art, Advocacy, and Healing

Prudence Au

Artist

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Painting the Enigmatic Blue Hole: Inspired by Gozo, Malta

Jeremy Chapnick

Managing Editor

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俗語說「三個女人一個墟」，其實「墟」也有很多種。由歌手到藝術創作的趙慧珊（Aka C），由藝人到發展司儀專業的李靄璣（Rikko），由一股藝術熱誠到投身藝術代理的陳可欣（Eleanor），三位女生因為藝術而結緣，2024年更於尖沙咀海港城美術館辦一個充滿藝術的「墟」，一連15日的「Wonders Phantasm」藝術展，以充滿奇幻想像力的作品，為這個商場展覽館帶來耳目一新的作品。Text: Goosie Lam Photo: Wan Sze Chuen Special Thanks to Landmark Mandarin Oriental for the perfect location

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三個女人一個「Wonders Phantasm」：專訪三位獨當一面的女性 趙慧珊、李靄璣、陳可欣 由發夢到促成美術展

林嵐(Jaffa) 由學習傳統書法、國畫，到之後轉為創作大型雕塑， 明言「作品不是 target 去賣」。對於坊間普遍認為「做藝術難搵食」，Jaffa 直指「是錢搵你而不是你搵錢」，因為修讀藝術，不只可以改變人生，更是人生最重要的投資。
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Q：你曾在專欄提過想舉辦「靈活收生」的課程，因為人人都有權讀藝術，成功了嗎？ 
A：其實當我上任香港藝術學院學術總監後，便想加強藝術教育的推廣，因為我堅信「藝術可改變命運」，尤其是已過 21 歲的 mature students，可能時間上未許可full time study，那可考慮 course by course 去發掘自己真正想要的。上星期我到中學出席講座，我亦有勸家長，若小朋友想讀藝術，千萬不要阻止他們，因為不一定要做律師才「搵到食」，逼孩子做沒有興趣的事只會令大家痛苦。就如我其中一個學生，課餘擺市集賣首飾，兩個小時已賣清存貨收檔，還接了訂單回家，可見創意也能帶給你生計。這個學生利用客人的 2 毫硬幣配合其工藝技術，將 2 毫硬幣化為花形耳環，所以其實連材料成本也不用。因為我一直以回收物去做創作，所以我也教學生「藝術是不用錢的」。至於創意從何來？就是從「練精學懶」而來，透過資料搜集、思考有效率的方法，令程序簡化才實踐，這是藝術課程給他的訓練。
其實讀藝術之後的出路也很廣，只要你做好第一項工作，之後根本不用擔心生計，「是錢搵你而不是你搵錢」。香港近年很多演出和展覽，很多學生未畢業已兼職做幕後製作的工作如屏幕、喇叭的安裝，不要看不起鋪電線的工作，這是一項專業手藝，如安裝得好，未畢業已有大量工作機會。若手藝不夠精也不怕，精於文職範疇也行，很多 gallery 需要有條理又讀過藝術的人才去處理日程和安排物資。又或是藝術公關，近年市場也很渴求，總之學生的出路我完全不擔心，因為即使轉行不是因為沒有工作，而是因為興趣改變。

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<img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/files/_MG_6644x1_0.jpg" title="藝術，是最重要的投資 林嵐" class="paragraph-image" alt="藝術，是最重要的投資 林嵐"/>
Q：多年來與香港婦女勞工協會合作，去年更創作了「家庭主婦」旗，作用如何？ 
A：我為她們製作了一面白旗，這創作在意大利及紐約也得到迥響，可惜本地媒體沒有太多報導。我一直認為家庭主婦是被忽略的一群，她們的勞動力不少，照顧子女、跟功課、做家務，可能有人會認為她們沒有賺錢能力，其實幫家庭節省了支出已經是賺錢的一種，但我發現協會的女工每朝為丈夫子女準備新鮮的食物和飯盒，自己的午餐卻只會吃隔夜菜，其實她們應份吃得更好。她們的老闆其實是誰呢？是不是政府呢？她們放棄工作幫手培養下一代，是否應該得到薪金/補貼呢？
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Q：平均每天工作多少小時？ 
A：除了睡覺及運動時間，我都是在工作。我每星期維持 8-10 小時的運動量，會持之以恆地跑步、跳舞、yoga、cardio 等，其實運動亦應該計入 working schedule，才可保證我的體力能應付大型雕塑創作。
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Q：從事創作多年，有試過迷失方向嗎？ 
A： 畢業後參加了一次比賽：藝遊鄰里計劃，之後就一直滾存，順利地被邀請參加幾個海外藝術展覽，到 04-05 年嘗試專心地做一個 curator，兼顧 fund-raising 一腳踢，在 05 年發現自己出現少少創傷，發覺自己不懂與人交流，所以出走到上海學玻璃，之後芝加哥、多倫多、孟加拉都有邀請我留駐，而我在美加駐留 8 個月後，終於醒了，08年回來，開始做 comtemprary art，一直創作大型混合媒介雕塑至今。
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Q：一句想對初入行的自己說的話&#8230;？&nbsp; 
A：「人多的地方不要去」，這是我師傅(藝術家張義)教我的，我亦一直遵從至今，我亦有將此訓傳承予我的學生。不是真的不要去人多的地方，而是那類型的項目已多人做的話，就不要去湊熱鬧做爛市。
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林嵐 
畢業於香港中文大學藝術系、研究院及教育學院，現擔任香港藝術學院學術總監。主力創作大型混合媒介雕塑作品及裝置，近年積極參與本土及海外不同的公共和社區藝術計劃，作品多以文化歴史、社會與時事為背景。除個人展覽外，林嵐多次獲邀參加本地及國際展覽，以及世界各地的藝術家留駐計劃，包括來自肯亞拉姆、孟加拉達卡、美國紐約和加拿大多倫多等地區。2013 年，她應邀參與日本瀨戶內海三年展，2009 年德國漢堡的「Subvision.art.festival.off.」當代藝術節。她亦獲選為 2007-2008 年紐約 Urban Glass 的特邀藝術家、2007 年多倫多 Tree Museum 十週年慶特邀藝術家。
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Text: Cheryl Chan 
Photo: Raymond Chan

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藝術，是最重要的投資 林嵐

睇唔睇到上面幅圖有兩個男人先？轉眼又到一年一度藝術三月，有去開香港Art Basel的粉絲們應該都留意到，每年藝術展back drop上都有呢個香檳名字Ruinart，這個香檳不單是Art Basel的長期合作夥伴，更是世界上最早開始釀香檳的品牌。
正如Maison Ruinart總裁Frédéric Dufour先生指：「藝術是我們品牌的根本特質，我們將繼續秉承支持藝術的使命， 為各個當代藝術博覽會及藝術家提供無限量的支持。」而今年品牌的支持，落在中國藝術家劉勃麟身上。全套8幅的畫作，以看不見的手（The Invisible Hands）為主題，每一幅都看得人目瞪口呆。<img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/files/Hiding in the vineyards with the Ruinart Cellar Master.png" title="【Art Basel 2018】Invisible你睇我唔到！香檳藝術無界" class="paragraph-image" alt="【Art Basel 2018】Invisible你睇我唔到！香檳藝術無界"/>劉勃麟在Ruinart位於蘭斯的酒莊停留了十天，第一次真正了解香檳釀造過程。在了解釀製過程後，創作了的8張將人類元素隱藏在內的攝影作品。劉指：「我十分欣賞香檳釀造團隊的專業，而且十分敬佩團隊如何將自然資源融入釀造過程當中。從整個酒莊到石灰岩地窖，其溫度及濕度都完美地配合釀製過程。Ruinart的釀製團隊在不損害大自然的情況下，將大自然最優質的資源投放進香檳中。我很希望在創作的作品中突顯這一點。」<img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/files/Disgorgement production line with workers.png" title="【Art Basel 2018】Invisible你睇我唔到！香檳藝術無界" class="paragraph-image" alt="【Art Basel 2018】Invisible你睇我唔到！香檳藝術無界"/>為了將人類元素隱藏，劉勃麟將焦點集中在釀製技術上。以隱藏人的手法，將員工在背後默默耕耘的特色隱喻在作品中，以強調Ruinart在釀製過程中與大自然的關係。劉勃麟提到：「當我第一次到訪地窖，那廣闊的空間令我驚訝。這是一個800年前由人手挖掘出來的空間，而從中你會感覺到時間流逝。這樣令此地方更添神秘感，令人很快著迷。」<img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/files/Hiding in the gyropalettes with Pablo.png" title="【Art Basel 2018】Invisible你睇我唔到！香檳藝術無界" class="paragraph-image" alt="【Art Basel 2018】Invisible你睇我唔到！香檳藝術無界"/>藝術家決定與Ruinart酒莊的員工一同隱身在作品當中，以突顯人類在大自然中的渺小。釀製團隊的技藝、專注、投入、為藝術家留下深刻印象。因此，劉勃麟決定將釀製團隊中的要員放入他的創作當中。「當你看到一瓶Ruinart，很難想像釀製過程的複雜性。Ruinart作為世上首家香檳釀製所，他們將其歷史和三百多年的價值，融入在日復日的釀製過程中。」<img src="https://prd-cdn.jessicahk.com/files/Deep underground.png" title="【Art Basel 2018】Invisible你睇我唔到！香檳藝術無界" class="paragraph-image" alt="【Art Basel 2018】Invisible你睇我唔到！香檳藝術無界"/>透過此系列鮮明及優雅的表演藝術作品，藝術家藉此與大家分享源遠流長的香檳酒莊之日常經驗。劉勃麟將在背後默默付出的團隊隱藏在莊院的各個場景中，以及將歷史、文化、自然、專業、技術反映其中，以彰顯Ruinart酒莊的特色。釀酒大師Frédéric Panaïotis表示：「他好像樂團內的指揮，帶領大家共同創作。這樣與我們的釀酒過程同出一轍，因為每個決定都非個人主導。由種植葡萄至到釀製，以及品嚐人員，都是依靠整個團隊的合作而完成。團體合作的意義就是，各個員工都可以共同分享努力過後的優秀成品。」

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