Happy Lunar New Year – Year of the Rat

The year has been a tumultuous one indeed with all the events that have taken place in Hong Kong, a city where I have been since my arrival in 1994, several years before the handover. Yet peculiarly, the weather in the city has been one of the most beautiful, ever. I moved into a new studio in Kwai Chung, and the space is perfectly suited for a creative person such as myself. The studio faces Kam Shan, a hill filled with lush trees and the sound of chirping birds. Nature. This time I have alone is my time, and I treasure it every day as if it was my last.

I am grateful for an exciting year, having exhibited my Asian male collection in Bangkok in April and New York in June. They are highlights of my life. In addition, I have also been featured several times in Saatchiart’s New This Week, an honor and a privilege.

As the lunar year passes to the year of the rat, I have a feeling that there will be big changes ahead as the entire city faces the unknown. It is much like how I paint and create when I begin a canvas. I move into the unknown with self-determination and a lot of guesswork. I have found that my most successful painting are those that mediate between chaos and control. Too much chaos results in a mass of muddy grey, and too much control suffocates the painting. I think the analogy mirrors life.

If you are on a journey that has taken you to dark places, I offer you my inner thoughts of peace. You are not alone. As Buddha once said: This too shall pass. We live in a life of impermanence. To all, I wish you health and abundance in the upcoming year, each and every day.

Norm Yip