I Have Constrain Therefore I Project – Halley Cheng

I HAVE CONSTRAIN THEREFORE I PROJECT CONVEYS DIFFERENT STAGES OF HALLEY CHENG’S CREATIVE PROCESS. HIS WORKS OFTEN INCLUDE MULTI-CULTURAL ELEMENTS, WITH HINTS OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE PAINTING INFLUENCES TO WESTERN WATERCOLOUR TECHNIQUES. ALTHOUGH CHENG’S BODY OF WORKS INCORPORATES VARIOUS MEDIUM AND STYLES, THEY CONSISTENTLY SHOW HIS DELICACY AND HUMOR.  HIS MOST RECENT WORKS ALSO ADDRESS THEMES RELATED TO SOCIAL CHANGE.

I HAVE CONSTRAIN THEREFORE I PROJECT IS THE ARTIST’S REVELATION ABOUT HIS CREATIVE LIFE, AS HIS REFLECTS ON THIS PERCEIVED IMBALANCE BETWEEN REALITY AND ILLUSION.

ADDRESSING HIS CERULEAN SERIES: “SCHOOLS ARE SIMILAR TO TREES; THEY BOTH SHOW GREATER STRENGTH AND DEPTH OF LONGEVITY AS THEY AGE AND MATURE. IT’S NOT SOMETHING WE CAN FIND IN OTHER ARCHITECTURE.”

THE BUILDINGS APPEAR IN DELICATE WATERCOLOUR FORM, PERMANENT AND YET ETHEREAL, THE GENTLE GENESIS OF ALL SOCIAL INTERACTION. UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZABLE AND YET TRUE TO HONG KONG, THE IMAGES WERE ACCLAIMED BY LEADING ART CRITICS SUCH AS JOHN BATTEN, WHO WROTE TO CHENG: “YOUR PAINTINGS ARE STRONG AND PERFECT AS A CENTRE FROM WHICH TO BEGIN AGAIN.” IN RETROSPECT, WE MAY SAY THAT CERULEAN WAS THE PRELIMINARY UNVEILING OF CHENG’S ONGOING AND DEVELOPING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF HONG KONG, USING THE SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES AS A SYMBOL OF A STARTING POINT, A BEGINNING, WHERE OPEN AND FRESH MINDS ARE BROUGHT TO LEARN THE KNOWLEDGE, THE EXPERIENCE, THE PREJUDICES AND THE TECHNIQUES THAT THEY APPLY IN ALL ASPECTS OF LATER LIFE, PROFESSIONAL, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL.

"Traditional Chinese Painting is an art of discipline. My learning process of Chinese Painting was not complete, which allows me to understood (understand) Chinese Paintings directly from itself (themselves), not through its discipline. It also gives room for me to make mistakes. "

– Halley Cheng

“LIFE” AND “COGNITION” ARE CORE VALUES IN CHENG’S ART.  FROM THE FINE DETAILS IN HIS INK PAINTINGS AND WATERCOLOURS, THE VIBRANT COLOURS IN OIL PAINTINGS, TO HIS EXPERIMENTAL INSTALLATIONS, THESE ELEMENTS ALL EXHIBIT THE DIVERSITY IN HIS CREATIONS. THROUGHOUT VARIOUS SUBJECT MATTERS THAT CHENG CREATES, THEY ALL CAN BE CONCLUDE TO THE SAME IDEOLOGY ABOUT LIFE.