Spotlight On YAFies: Breakthrough Art Studio

Breakthrough Art Studio
Textile artist
 
A lot of your work at Breakthrough Arts Studio involves textile art. What is the importance of textile art for you and the team?
Textiles and weaving have a long history in Asia, and there’s a lot of variation in the textiles produced in countries like China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. Over thousands of years, each region has developed unique techniques, patterns and aesthetics. Textile arts can help us learn about traditional craftsmanship, regional culture and stories.

At Breakthrough Arts Studio we’re drawn to the techniques and features of weaving that enrich creativity and help express ideas. For this reason textile art has become a core medium of our work.
 
When did you start creating eco art? What inspires you to commit to protecting the environment?
During our work, I’ve connected with different ethnic groups, some of which uphold the concept of “what is taken from the earth, should return to it.” It’s about maintaining a balance by using resources and materials that can be reabsorbed by nature. This mindset resonates with us and is naturally integrated into our creations.

As well as expressing ideas about environmental protection through our work, we also carefully select sustainable materials. Natural materials like cotton, linen, bamboo, wood, rattan, and so on decompose naturally and quickly when the artworks are disassembled. Although reducing the use of chemicals for preservation and colouring poses some creative challenges, we think it’s worth it.

A lot of your work involves the use of bamboo. What are the reasons behind this choice?
Bamboo has a lot of uses in Hong Kong, you can find it in things like dim sum steamers, scaffolding, lion heads in lion dances and cooling bamboo mats. The memories and meaning tied to bamboo are different for people of different generations. Compared to many other materials, bamboo is a very sustainable, eco-friendly material. Culturally, it symbolises endurance and resilience. And in terms of craftsmanship, it’s a versatile material that performs well in most artwork creations, whether they are 2D or 3D, simple or complex. It can be the sole component of an artwork, or integrated with other materials. These characteristics are what make it enjoyable to use.

 
What challenges did you face creating Empathize with 52-hertz for the BEA Festival 2024?
Empathize with 52-hertz is a large-scale work. Each element needed to be hand-crafted within a limited time frame. To achieve the right amount of detail, we relied heavily on the assistance of the Bank of East Asia volunteer team. As each volunteer had their own style of working – making the most of these differences was an interesting challenge.

What message do you hope to share with the audience through Empathize with 52-hertz?
Whales locate and communicate with each other through sound. One individual whale – known as the loneliest whale in the world – has been heard calling at a frequency of 52 hertz. As this pitch is higher than other whale calls, it has been unable to find a companion for over two decades. But the call of this special whale has been noticed and recorded by humans, and some people are actively searching the ocean to find it.

We hope this story shows that even it seems like your efforts aren’t generating a reaction, you may have already reached someone somewhere. Whether our passions are environmental conservation, artistic creation or cultural promotion, we may feel as alone as the 52 hertz whale, but eventually we’ll find those who understand us.

Coral reefs are important habitats for a great variety of marine life. Some whales also migrate to reefs to give birth. If coral bleaching continues to worsen, it will have a negative domino effect on the interconnected ecosystems. The artwork combines coral and whales. Some of the corals are bleached. We hope the metaphor of a sick whale losing its colour will encourage the audience to pay attention to the changes taking place in our marine environments and take action to prevent further damage.
 
What is your favourite marine animal?
At Breakthrough Arts Studio we love all marine creatures because they all have their own characteristics and unique existence. They complement each other like the pieces of a puzzle, creating the whole seascape. That’s why we love them all.

 
In the future, how would you like to promote environmental protection through your work?
In addition to creating works with environmental themes, we hope to encourage public engagement in environmental conservation through our choice of materials and techniques.

Natural materials can inspire an appreciation of the beauty of natural textures and natural imperfections. The excessive colour and energy of contemporary cities can be very overstimulating. Simple colours can be calming. The more we learn to appreciate nature, the more we will be naturally motivated to protect the environment.

Nowadays, synthetic materials are very accessible. Vibrant paints, craft adhesives, protective coatings, and so on, can make art creation faster, cheaper and more eye-catching. But a work that takes a year to create may take more than fifty years to degrade. We prefer to use traditional materials and techniques and take our time with the creative process. We also want to encourage people to co-create with us and experience the process firsthand.
 
What was your most unforgettable creative experience?
Making Moonrise in Daylight in 2022. After visiting Hong Kong's Sharp Island and seeing the beauty of the scenery and the tombolo sandbar that emerges at low tide to connect the islands, we were inspired to create a work about the power of nature and the concept of “timing.” The use of natural materials helped the artwork blend with the environment, creating subtle but interesting changes to the location. The message was that, as inhabitants of this planet, seeking a state of balance may be the key to sustainability.

 
What advice do you have for youngsters who are passionate about the arts?
Trust your intuition. Be bold in seeking, learning and trying things out. The process may not always be smooth, but each step will yield valuable experience and help you find the approach that suits you best.