WONG Lai Ching Fiona
Biography
Senior Lecturer /
Subject Coordinator,
Hong Kong
Art School
BEd, University of East Anglia, UK
MFA, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Specialty: Ceramics
Fiona is a renowned and well-respected ceramic artist in Hong Kong. She was selected as the Artist of the Year (Visual Arts) in the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards 2017. In the same year, she received the commendation award presented by the Secretary of Home Affairs for her contributions to the promotion of arts and culture.
Fiona’s works have been widely exhibited locally and internationally, and have been collected and treasured by numerous museums and private sectors. Fiona has been participating in over 50 solo and group exhibitions as well as art projects of various kinds over the years. She was invited to take part in the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale in Japan in 2015, breathing a new and artistic life into a dilapidated house in the field. She has also been invited to the artist-in-residence programmes across the globe, setting foot in countries such as Australia, Germany, Japan, and the United States.
Throughout her careers, Fiona has been taking up the role of curator for exhibitions of different scales. Her recent research interest focuses on ceramic functional objects and local heritage.
Abstract
Modern Mind, Primitive Hands
(presented in Panel Discussion 1: Conceptual Art and Traditional Hand-making Skills)
Object making has left indelible fingerprints on human civilization. From the days when stone axes were used to create primitive utensils to the modern world which sees the flourishing of hobby craft studios where all kinds of objects are made, the meaning of making has been changing with time and environment. The digital era provides an opportunity for us to rethink the role of making and the meaning of craftsmanship for our time.
The traditional hierarchy of brain over hands is an oversimplification of such a relationship. The popularization of education and the growth of a burgeoning global economy urge us to rethink this hierarchy. Education nowadays is providing us a unique platform to explore how object-making craftsmanship contributes to the refinement of the human civilization.
