City Behind Bars, 2020
wood-cut, Lithograph, 3D model
This work is inspired by a map from the Hong Kong Lands Department. The book on the shelf depicts how the map is structured and disassembled. The idea transits from a map to an image, and the image turned into cubes, then it is reformed and assembled into a maze. Before everything is put together, there is a definition for viewers to have reference on: City behind bars defined as tall walls, confinement feeding, socialization and endless loop.
The three pieces on the right are extended from the track of the metal ball inside the maze. After the metal ball goes around the entire maze, there will be a track of how it went through, which is later formed into a three-dimensional track. The metal box next to it contains a few acrylic boards. All the boards have different sizes of circles printed on it, and they overlap together until they all connect.
An Taiwanese artist used to say: Hong Kong is a city of skyscrapers, whereas another artist said Hong Kong will soon become the city of lost. No matter which direction people choose, how far or how deep they walk, they are stuck inside, inside the wall forever.
The wooden box is the 2-D version of the maze inside the book, which is finalized into a three- dimensional prototype. It is a maze that there is no starting point or destination: a loop.
The printmake on the very right depicts the merging of buildings and roads. The viewers can see the thickness of the ink when they look closely, and there is also the pressure mark on the edges.
