10 Questions with Cheuk Yan Cherry Tung

Cheuk Yan Cherry Tung is a Hong Kong-born interdisciplinary artist currently based in Chicago. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023 and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2020.

In her art practice, Cherry explores alternative perspectives to observe the world. Inspired by Daoist philosophy, her oil painting project involves using a microscope to observe ordinary small objects such as teardrops, dust particles, and the hairs of a paintbrush, and then paint the image on large canvases.

In her latest taxidermy painting series, Cherry endeavors to bridge Eastern and Western culture by blending the concept of European Vanitas paintings with Gongbi painting, a traditional ink painting skill that she learnt in Hong Kong. This body of work discusses the power dynamics between human beings and nature. 

Cherry is an award-winning artist who received the 2024 Emerging Art Development Grant from the Hong Kong Art Development Council, the 2023 Luminarts Visual Art Fellowship, and 2023 James Nelson Raymond Fellowship. She has exhibited in Hong Kong and the United States in various venues such as the CSI Project Space, Art Clvb Gallery at NewLab Detroit, the Confluence Gallery, Art Pie Gallery, SAIC Galleries, Ruschman Gallery in Chicago, John David Mooney Foundation, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

www.cherrytungart.com | @cherrytungart

ARTIST STATEMENT

Cheuk Yan Cherry Tung is a painter. Her educational background in both Hong Kong and Chicago has inspired her to bridge Eastern and Western cultures in her art.

Inspired by the cosmology of Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi, 'The universe is not larger than the tip of a hair, and Mount Tai is small', Cherry's abstract painting series revolves around observing insignificant aspects of daily life, such as dust particles, teardrops, hair, etc., through a microscope. After careful observation, she painted the images on large canvases. Cherry's oil paintings incorporate her own imagination, such as the starry sky, sea of clouds, waves, sunset, celestial bodies, etc. She attempts to observe this world from unusual distances and angles, hoping to inspire audiences to rethink daily life and discover beauty in the ordinary. 

In her latest taxidermy animal painting series, Cherry integrates Western and Eastern art traditions. The concept of this project is influenced by Francisco Goya's black paintings and other European Vanitas paintings, but the technique is Gongbi, which is a traditional realist Chinese ink painting skill She learnt in Hong Kong. The portrayal of animals within the flower-and-bird genre in traditional Chinese painting boasts a rich history dating back to the Tang Dynasty. Typically, these artworks capture the intrinsic beauty, grace, and ethereal qualities of nature. In a departure from this convention, She has chosen to depict taxidermy—an unconventional and, perhaps, rebellious choice. Addressing the theme of death in Chinese tradition is often regarded as taboo, making her artistic exploration a departure from the norm. 

Taxidermy is made of the dead bodies of animals transformed into aesthetically pleasing displays in museums. However, they are essentially just the skin and fur of the animals, but there is no more flesh and soul inside anymore. The use of taxidermy in this painting series is to reflect people in contemporary society who are glamorous on the outside but hollow inside.

In natural history museums, taxidermy are arranged in different poses to portray hunting and mating moments. When these two individual animals were alive, they may have been strangers who never met. Maybe they survived and died in different time periods in different countries. After they die, people collect them and make their dead bodies act like one is attacking the other. It is an artificial power dynamics that never happens in real life. 

In traditional practice, the painted silk is mounted on paper to create an opaque effect. Cherry intentionally keeps the translucent silk on stretchers, allowing viewers to see through the structure, emphasizing the artificiality of the depicted scenes, mirroring the constructed nature of taxidermy displayed in boxes in the museums.

To create the taxidermy painting series, Cherry undertook extensive research by visiting natural history museums around the world, including the Field Museum in Chicago, the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, and the Melbourne Museum. The number of paintings keeps expanding along with her journey.

INTERVIEW

Please share a bit about your background growing up in Hong Kong and how it influenced your approach to arts.

Growing up in a rather conservative family in Hong Kong, art making is my way to explore the world and express my ideas. I have studied in Munsang College, a Christian school in Kowloon for 15 years, from kindergarten to high school. Painting is the only thing that I love and choose by my own will. Through creating artworks, I can enjoy freedom and autonomy. 
Since Hong Kong was a British colony and currently a part of China, it is a cosmopolitan city that combines Eastern and Western culture, and it has provided me with various learning resources. Studying Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong has equipped me with the knowledge and skills of ancient Chinese ink painting techniques and the history and culture of ceramics. At the same time, I started to appreciate Zhuangzi, the Daoist Philosopher. His love of nature and the pursuit of spiritual freedom has influenced the theme and style of my painting. 
I am very grateful for my family who love me. Even though none of them are in the art field, they are very supportive of my art. However, they are very worried about me making political art criticizing the Chinese government and getting into trouble. The atmosphere in Hong Kong and the pressure from my family made me self censor in my art. Therefore, I tend to use metaphors and indirect ways to express my ideas. 

You received a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago after completing your Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. What inspired you to move from Hong Kong to Chicago, and how did this help you with your practice?

After experiencing social upheavals in Hong Kong in 2019 and later the COVID outbreak, it was suffocating and dreadful in the society, and I wanted to escape. Therefore, I applied for MFA programs overseas, in hopes of going to a country with less censorship. Fortunately, the ceramic department of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago accepted my application, and it was truly a turning point in my life. 
Since SAIC encourages interdisciplinary art practices and experimentation, we have the freedom to explore a wide range of mediums and techniques. I am lucky to have tried foundry, scientific illustration, and painting material classes, and I learned egg tempera, silverpoint, casein, etc. 
In the United States, there is a much more diverse population of people from different cultural backgrounds. Studying and living abroad has urged me to reflect on my identity, as Hong Kong students are really a minority. Also, I am conscious that I need to have an in-depth understanding of the meaning of each element I use in my artwork. Even when I am a Hong Kong person and ethnic Chinese, if I use traditional motifs or political elements just for visual appeal or exotic gimmick, it is still a kind of cultural appropriation. 

Do you find that living and working in a foreign country influences your work? And if so, what do you think is the major change you are experiencing? 

Since I don't have any family ties in Chicago, and nobody knows me, I could start from a new beginning. I am no longer somebody's daughter or sister, and I am able to develop my own reputation and career by myself. I can make art projects that are more radical and provocative, such as porcelain handcuffs, Zombie Communist Rabbits, and Hermaphrodite Hedgehogs.
However, as a foreigner in the US, I have to experience anxiety from the financial burden and visa-related stress. I am applying for an artist visa, and the attorney fee is 9000 USD, but it does not guarantee that my application will be successful. It is such a huge gamble. Fortunately, I met many nice and friendly people in Chicago. SAIC classmates and professors are very supportive and passionate about art, and I will rent a studio space with my ceramic classmates after graduation. Besides, I received a lot of support from Chicago Sculpture International, a membership organization championing sculptors and the creation of sculpture. My life is full of uncertainty, but I will keep on working hard. 

As you mentioned in your statement, your oil painting project involves using a microscope to observe small objects like teardrops and dust particles before painting them on large canvases. What inspired you to explore this unique approach, and what do you hope viewers take away from these works?

This body of work revolves around observing insignificant aspects of daily life, such as dust, tears, hair, etc., through a microscope. Inspired by the cosmology of Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi, 'The universe is not larger than the tip of a hair, and Mount Tai is small, I attempt to observe this world from unusual distances and angles, hoping to inspire audiences to rethink daily life and discover beauty in the ordinary. My oil paintings incorporate my own imagination, such as the starry sky, sea of clouds, waves, sunset, celestial bodies, etc. Therefore, there will be a difference between the paintings and the original photographs.
My first painting in this series is Dust. I used an enlarged image of the dust particle on a large canvas (132 x 151cm). The dust was collected from a mountain, and I painted the image of the mountain on a small panel (3 x 4cm). When displaying my art, I put the large dust painting next to the tiny mountain painting, aiming to challenge the viewer's conventional understanding of the world.
The painting of Teardrops was created from 2019 to 2020 during the social unrest in Hong Kong. At that time, I was really depressed, and I cried a lot. A more direct way to express negative emotions in art might be painting sad faces or taking photos of myself crying. However, I chose to collect teardrops and observe them under a microscope, which is a very indirect way to explore and express my sadness and anger. After reflection, I realized the reason for this practice is because I want to keep a safe distance to observe my own emotions, and I tried to observe myself or the world like a scientist who tries to be objective and rational. 

On the contrary, in your taxidermy painting series, you mention blending European Vanitas paintings with Gongbi paintings. Can you share with us how you got this idea and what inspired you in this regard?

Traditional Gongbi painting has a long history of portraying animals within the flower-and-bird genre, dating back to the Han Dynasty. Typically, these artworks capture the intrinsic beauty, grace, and ethereal qualities of nature. In traditional Chinese aesthetics, the quality of harmony is emphasized. Addressing the theme of death in Chinese tradition is often considered taboo. Contrarily, European Vanitas paintings use symbolisms to remind audiences of the transience of life and the inevitability of death. This Western art tradition has inspired the concept of my art.
Using Gongbi's painting to depict taxidermy is an unconventional and, perhaps, rebellious choice. Taxidermy are essentially the feathers and fur of deceased animals. Through the craft of taxidermists, these dead bodies of animals are transformed into captivating dioramas. Even though they look alive, they are only beautiful displays without souls. The use of taxidermy as subject matter in my painting is a metaphor for Hong Kong's current situation. The government wants to create an illusion that Hong Kong is still a prosperous international big city, but it has already lost its core values. 
In terms of visual style, this painting project merges the Chiaroscuro technique with Chinese ink painting, by applying numerous layers of ink wash on silk to create a mystical and dramatic effect. In traditional Chinese ink paintings, artists leave a lot of blank white spaces on the paper. However, I chose to use black backgrounds to express a somber emotion.

Your work often delves into themes of power dynamics between humans and nature. Can you elaborate on this concept and how it manifests in your art?

I like to use animals as metaphors to address political issues because they don't have identity problems such as race, nationality, sex and gender, age, and social status. However, they can still express emotions and personality.
When I studied at SAIC, I took a scientific illustration class and spent one semester observing and painting taxidermies in the Field Museum. At that time, I started to empathize with the animals. In their lifetime, the animals are essentially strangers that never meet each other. After they died, the taxidermist posed their bodies in hunting, fighting, or mating scenes. These relationships are fictional and artificial. Human beings use animal dead bodies as a tool to create their own narratives. The animals themselves may only live a few months or a few years. However, after turning into taxidermy, they might be displayed in museums for hundreds of years. These frozen displays capture an imaginative moment that never occurred in reality and will be kept forever.
I am interested in observing this relationship about manipulation. Some professors and classmates suggested that I can take classes and make animal taxidermies on my own, but I said no. I don't want to be a perpetrator and involved in manipulating animals. I just want to be an observer.

As an interdisciplinary artist, how do you approach combining different mediums and techniques in your practice? Are there any challenges or rewards in working across disciplines?

My main focus is on oil painting, Gongbi ink painting, and ceramic sculpture. Juxtaposition is an important element in my practice. In my recent art projects, I employ delicate and culturally significant materials, such as silk and porcelain, to discuss issues about violence and social conflicts. In the taxidermy painting series, I use silk, a thin and translucent fabric, to address the issue of death and the violence of hunting. In traditional practice, the painted silk is mounted on paper to create an opaque effect. I intentionally keep the translucent silk on stretchers, allowing viewers to see through the structure, emphasizing the artificiality of the depicted scenes, mirroring the constructed nature of taxidermy displayed in boxes in the museums. In my sculpture project, I made two pairs of locked handcuffs in porcelain, addressing the issue of forced marriage, which is a fragile relationship that people are reluctant to break.
One of the benefits of having an interdisciplinary practice is I never get bored. When I don't want to paint realistic artworks anymore, I can switch to abstract paintings, making sculptures, and drawing cartoon comics. It is difficult for me to focus on only one theme and style. Some people believe it is not good for developing a career if I do too many different things, while other people suggest I should keep doing different things. My solution is to separate my art into several series and write an artist statement for each of them. 
Since I am working in both Hong Kong and Chicago, one of the challenges I am facing is the risk and high cost for international shipping. Since paintings and ceramic are fragile and heavy, it needs extra care when transporting and packing the artworks. If I have more money, I will make artworks on a larger scale. Sometimes I wish I was a digital artist or performing artist, then I wouldn't have the concern about logistics. 

You've exhibited in various venues in Hong Kong and the United States, receiving awards such as the 2024 Emerging Art Development Grant from the Hong Kong Art Development Council. How do these experiences shape your projects and artistic ambitions?

I am really grateful for different organizations in Hong Kong and the United States that gave me opportunities to show my works, and I enjoy sharing my art with people who have completely different cultural backgrounds. I am eager for future exhibition opportunities world wide, hoping to reach out to wider audiences. 
Having exhibitions, grants and fellowships, and sales helped me gain confidence, and I can prove that I am a professional artist. In 2023, Christmas, I returned to Hong Kong and stayed at home with my family for three weeks. Within those three weeks, my mother asked me five times, "Are you an artist? Are you really an artist?" I think artists are essentially people who create artwork; it can be as easy as using a pencil to make a mark on paper or even using your own body as a tool to do a performance. As long as we are constantly creating new artworks, we are artists. However, it is difficult to make other people recognize us as professional artists. 

Looking ahead, what are some of your long-term goals or aspirations as an artist? Are there any milestones or achievements you hope to reach in your career?

My goal is to maintain a sustainable art career in which I can sell paintings to earn money to fund my next paintings, such as art supplies and studio rent. 
I am constantly joining several group shows in different places, but I hope I can have at least one solo exhibition every year. I am still looking for exhibition, teaching, and publication opportunities around the world to share my art, skills and knowledge. 
I hope to develop my early career in the United States, and I am currently busy applying for a visa. Later, I hope to finish writing and drawing my comics about an immortal creature living in a dystopian world. It will take a lot of time and effort, and I hope I can complete and publish it within ten years from now. 

Lastly, speaking of the future, can you discuss any upcoming projects or exhibitions you're currently working on or planning? What concepts or themes will you be exploring in these new works?

I have two upcoming group exhibitions in Chicago; one is the Finalist Exhibition of the Brain Bridge Art Contest (April 27th - May 10th, 2024). Another one is the 12th Annual Bridgeport Art Center's Art Competition Finalist Exhibition(May 11- July 5, 2024). 
The grant given by Hong Kong Art Development Council allowed me to hold my first solo exhibition in Hong Kong Visual Art Centre from 1-5 August 2024. Titled "In Between", this exhibition aims at exploring the blurred boundaries between life and death, real and fake, natural and artificial, abstract and realist. I will show the paintings and sculptures I made in Hong Kong and Chicago in these past few years. 
Speaking of new artworks, I am planning to work on a new project titled "Crystal of Tears" to explore teardrops and ceramic glazes since both of them can form beautiful crystal structures after enduring turmoils. People shed tears when they experience strong emotions, such as sadness, anger, or joy. When dried teardrops are observed under a microscope, they form random, beautiful snowflake-like crystals. Similarly, Ceramic glazes can also form random crystals after firing. The production of ceramics also involves hardship. Ceramics require firing at extremely high heat, and the kiln's temperature must fluctuate to form beautiful crystalline patterns. To achieve the ideal color and pattern on ceramics, I have encountered countless failures. If I have exhibition opportunities, I would love to show my paintings, the original photographs, the teardrop specimens, and the ceramic artworks. 

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.