文具胡桃夾子

Last but not least, we have Hanison Lau 劉學成, our great creative upcycling artist who created the fantastic The Stationery Nutcracker!

(scroll down for Chinese 下面附中文)

I am…
I am an artist and an art educator. My main work is in creating art, but I also teach visual arts and sculpturing at many primary, middle and colleges. Right now, I am preparing for an exhibition in January, as well as in the midst of planning an overseas exhibition.

The Stationery Nutcracker
When YAF commissioned me to be part of the Citibank Plaza Recycled Nutcracker Project, I immediately thought of the offices above, and all the discarded and used stationery they must have: A4 paper boxes, paper clips and folders etc. Therefore, I chose to use stationery as my main material and hence produced The Stationery Nutcracker. YAF and Citibank Plaza helped me to collect the raw materials, and I designed using the stationery’s different characteristics.

When viewers discovered that my nutcracker was created using ordinary objects from their daily office life, an immediate connection was made between the viewer and the art piece. The piece resonated with audiences, encouraging them to stretch their imaginations. I also wanted to, through the playful style and structure of the nutcracker, bring a bit of joy to the busy office workers walking past the exhibition.

Creative challenges
There weren’t too many challenges materials-wise, as I have used recycled materials and paper boxes in the past and so am quite familiar with their characteristics. However, because the nutcracker is 7 feet tall, for safety purposes, I had to ensure that it had a stable structure. I first used wooden poles to create the structure, then wrapped them with paper boxes.

Why environmental art?
When I started my career, I never really considered environmental art. I just knew that using waste materials was a great way to save money (after all, artists don’t earn very much!). However, I slowly realized that other than it being a low-cost method, it also allowed me to spread a meaningful message about our environmental. I also liked the idea of giving materials a second life, and using what is in many people’s eyes, waste, to create collectible works of art.

我是…
一名藝術工作者和藝術教育工作者，主要工作為創作作品，另外會在不同的中小學和大專院校教授視藝科和雕塑。 現在為著來年一月的展覽進行創作中，也在洽談來年的海外展覽中。

文具胡桃夾子
我的是次作品為文具胡桃夾子，因作住辦機構聯絡我時，說道作品會放在花旗銀行廣場展出，我立時聯想到上面全是辦公室，他們最多是A4 紙盒、不同的文儀用品如萬字夾和文件夾等，所以我選取了文具為主要材料，之後我在不同的渠道收集材料，還聯絡了主辦機構替我向花旗銀行收集了舊的 A4 紙盒，根據收集得來的這些物料之特性來創作。

當觀眾發現胡桃夾子是用他們日常工作時所用的工具所創作而成的，作品與觀者之間的關係立即連上，共嗚感也因而產生，他們也可對