The oil paintings of young local female artists Alley Leong (梁天兒) and Sin U Lam are together being showcased in the exhibition titled “Soft Bodies, Hard Structures” at Casa Garden until September 30, allowing visitors to explore two distinct art styles.
With 31 pieces presented, the exhibition at the Macau headquarters of the Lisbon-based Orient Foundation (FO) is held as part of Art For All Society Macau’s (AFA) “The Collaboration Project - AFA Young Artist Development Programme”.
The programme encourages participating artists to create at least one work together, but for this inaugural edition, Leong and Sin, the latter of whom is based in London, worked together under a shared set of rules, according to exhibition details at the venue.
Contrast is commonly found throughout this showcase, and that starts with the artists backgrounds.
Macau-based Leong, a self-taught artist, started off in the tattoo industry, working as a tattoo artist for six years prior to focusing on oils. Exploring her artworks, one will find female figures depicted in vivid colours, with a distinct red dot, sometimes noted as a “third eye”, within them, as highlighted in an artist and exhibition statement at the venue.
Each piece goes deeper, with the exploration of the bodily experience a key point in her works. Leong, who was born without her left forearm, confronts the relationship between the body and the self, also noting her personal experiences.
Sin, meanwhile, is formally trained in fine art, starting with sculpture before moving onto painting. For her works, objects and landscapes take different forms on canvas from colours to figures. The artist information also highlights that memory, lived experience, and her perception of the world around her are also sources of inspiration.
Using their styles, each explores different themes, putting their worlds and perceptions onto the canvas. Leong challenges standard body norms by depicting alternative possibilities for what makes a body complete or perfect.
Sin’s works, meanwhile, take on a more abstract route. Highlighting “spatial memories” that highlights emotions within space, her works, according to the statement, have “structure and architectural quality, using art to preserve unseen memories, emotions, and felt experiences, framing the body as a way of being.
Art lovers and other members of the public can explore the two artists’ works from 10:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m., being open from Tuesday to Sunday.
Casa Garden is located at 13 Praça de Luís de Camões.
Photos taken yesterday at Casa Garden by Rui Pastorin
