ufoArtgallery & alivenotdead.com

present

Dead Art Comes Alive

Benjamin Qwek, Start from Zero, Nimchi Yuen, Mimi Leung, Mike Chan, Emily Eldridge, Shann Larsson, Sonya Fu & Tanya Bennett

Vernissage – 21 April, 29 April, 7 May 2010, 6 - 9pm

Exhibition – 21 April to 15 May 2010

Venue – ufoArtgallery, 39 Graham Street, Central, Hong Kong

To celebrate its 1st Anniversary, ufoArtgallery is proud to present Dead Art Comes Alive, a special project which consists of 9 young talented artists with a fresh idea of cycles of group exhibitions, all participating artists are chosen from alivenotdead.com

Dead Art Comes Alive will be featuring 3 artists in each cycle, from 21st – 28th April would be Benjamin Qwek, Start from Zero and Nimchi Yuen, from 29th April - 6th May would be Mimi Leung, Mike Chan and Emily Eldridge, from 7th May - 15th May would be Shann Larsson, Sonya Fu and Tanya Bennett, and contains a wide range of artworks including oil paintings, drawings, water colours, prints, sculptures, mixed-media artworks.

ufoArtgallery and alivenotdead.com share the same idea as they act as a platform to encourage artists to show their creativity. There is no “should” or “should not” in art, Dead Art Comes Alive aims to grow the audience attention to the yet-attended artists, and is a showcase of how these young artists express themselves through their artworks, it allows the audience to see the diversities and energy of some so-called deviant art, that can be witty, melancholic, mad, fun, humourous, blue and even creepy.

Benjamin Qwek – aka Mr.B, is a visual stylist. Growing up in Singapore, a cosmopolitan with diverse and converge cultural influences. Aspiring to be a multi disciplinary artist, Mr.B is always striving to create distinctive visuals that fuses various influences and design communication. A crossover artist from the world of graphic design and street art, MRB straddles between mainstream illustration and adding a street edge to his projects.

Random juxtaposition of cultures, influences and styles ranging from Japanese Manga to contemporary art are what describes Mr.B vivid art and ideas. Being the winner of Tiger Translate Singapore, Mr.B is featured in publications such as: JUICE Magazine, TODAY, The Straits Times and Maxim. His works have been exposed in CPLUV, Illustrationmundo, Computerarts UK, Digital Arts and Territory Magazine.

Start from Zero - "Start From Zero" was founded by a Hong Kong local street artist - Dom.

START stands for STreet ART, STencil ART and STicker ART. The are two meanings of "Start From Zero":

1. He started performing street art from nothing, i.e. "zero; I hope that when someone see my stickers, they will be like me, start doing street art from "zero".

2. It can be a slogan for encouraging people when they are unhappy, down or miserable.

He also wants people to remind their friends of this slogan when the same things happen. Apart from using stickers, "Start From Zero" also uses weep pastes, spraying on stencils with different characters and illustrations to convey his message on streets. "Start From Zero" does solo street art as well as collaboration street art. He is an active member of a Hong Kong Street Art crew – ST/ART. Besides performing street art, "Start From Zero" will release various products, T-shirts, badges, caps and other accessories. These are the additional media for "Start From Zero" to more widely spread his message to everyone.

Nimchi Yuen - Nimchi Yuen studied B.A. Fine Art at Kent Institute of Art and Design in Canterbury. Her paintings embody the dreams, desires and contradictions of contemporary life. The figures depicted in the painting are in a state of intensity and are depicted in the moment of climax in their gestures and state of mind. The sculptures are an extension of her paintings. The unselfconscious gestures of the animals with their industrial shaped body parts reflect the combination of our natural instinct and desires on one hand and on the other hand, the influence of contemporary society with its man-made norms, values and artificiality. Previously she had exhibition with galleries such as Opera Gallery, (Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Paris), Art Scene China and LKF the Gallery (Hong Kong), Karin Weber Gallery (Hong Kong) and Agora Gallery (New York) and the Fringe Club. Nimchi Yuen has grown up in the Netherlands and had her art education in the UK. She currently lives and works in Hong Kong.

Mimi Leung - Mimi Leung is a Hong Kong-born artist and illustrator, she studied at Central St Martins and the Royal College of Art in London. Since her first solo show in Hong Kong 2008 Mimi's engagingly colourful and playful images have captured the attention of the likes of Kanye West, Vice magazine, Mika and The ICA. Her work intertwines memory and cognition, springing from between the hardness of everyday reality and the power of the imagination. She is inspired by people and the things around her and works across a wide range of media. Using wreckless colour combinations, asymmetric compositions and goofy characters. Mimi's work draws your attention to things that are often more complex than they may first seem. Mimi is currently represented by Big Active.

Mike Chan - animator, motion-graphic designer and illustrator. Obsessed about funny and surreal images as well as landscape, Mike has developed an explosive and quirky style in his work. His desire to explore the creative world and different mix of cultures led him to the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Mike graduated with a Bachelor degree in Graphic Design in 2005 and a Master degree in Communication design in 2007. He fully embraces the art of moving image and the joys of still drawing. His passion from art and design to various form of visual as well as his previous experiences in various music video to art-video projects made him an expert in the field. His works included a collaboration with the British leather bag designer, Ally Capellino- the Wrapping Project, the 'A is for Ally' installation, which consists of video exhibited in 'Design is simply complex' from London design festival. In 2009 ,Mike has participated in the video design for Take That The Circus Tour and Pet Shop Boys Pandemonium Tour while working in Onedotzero industry- a contemporary, digital arts organization in UK. Mike is currently working for yucolab. He is also a part-time dreamer and a fun maker.

Emily Eldridge - Trash is treasure for artist Emily Eldridge, who reinvents cardboard boxes and wood scraps as the canvas for her quirky illustrations, which feature a cast of stylishly-coiffed ladies and peculiar-looking characters. Originally from the United States, Emily attended the Savannah College of Art & Design, where she graduated with a BFA in Illustration in 2004. Emily currently lives and works in Hong Kong, where she spends her days making art with students, and nights and weekends as an aspiring artist and illustrator. Her work has been featured in a variety of publications including WestEast, HK Magazine, Muse Magazine, The South China Morning Post, TimeOut Hong Kong, Perspective Magazine, CUP, and Jet Magazine, among others. Additional collaborations include store window displays with top Hong Kong department store Lane Crawford. Emily is active in the Hong Kong and international art scenes.

Shann (/ʃɑːn/  )(b.1987) is of Eurasian descent, raised in Germany, Sweden, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. Shann Larsson’s art is a poignant introspection of the darker recesses of human subconscious. A mixed media artist, Shann uses paint, photo manipulation and her own unique style to create intense pieces that are filled with dynamic expression. Through the looseness of ink washes and the rawness of imperfect pen and brush strokes, Shann attempts to engage the viewer into the soul and pulse of the artwork. Over the years Shann has shared her work on her numerous websites, but has also been published in a few ‘underground’ art magazines including: Burrow Magazine (New York), Inside-Artzine, (Germany), as well as Galleri Magazine (Hong Kong) featuring CD artwork for musician Dan F. From recreating figments of her imagination as a child, up until this day she continues to create her personal artwork, inspired by the details that form the various responses to life, and through exploration of her fascination with the human condition. Commonly described as dark, haunting or ethereal, some works may be found disturbing if not reflective in the viewer - potentially opening the eye to the beauty of the unimaginable.

Sonya Fu - Hong Kong illustrator and graphic designer with an eye for the equivocal and a thirst for the macabre. From salient and scornful to androgynous and ambiguous, Sonya's work can be playful and sanguine, yet skittish and melancholic, depending on the viewer’s mood. "My art can be disturbing to the audience, but this is my interpretation of life and the perspective of the many aspects of my everyday encounters." Sonya says. "I like to break through the stereotype and tradition, and to expose what lies beneath the sugar-coated surface, as we do not live in a fairytale world. If my work manages to scare, sadden, excite or inspire people, then I am doing the right thing as an artist – to create and convey emotion."

The modernist works mainly in digital media, and is inspired by dreams, music, emotions and psychology, filling her pieces with subtle messages.

Tanya Bennett - Originally from the Uk, Tanya relocated to Hong Kong in order to broaden her creative think-tank of influence and inspiration. She graduated with a Bsc degree in Clothing Manufacturing & Design from the Scottish School of Textiles, and specialized in Fashion Illustration. Combining her deep rooted love of fashion, illustration, and the power of femininity, Tanya explores traditional, digital, and mixed media platforms to present beautiful and compelling images of women, each ascribed a befitting "Doris" moniker. Quoting the 18th Century Arts patron, Madame Marie du Deffand, Tanya believes and tries to convey with the characters that she creates that: “Women are never stronger than when they arm themselves with their weaknesses”

“Dead Art Comes Alive is to give the local artists a chance to show their works, there are many talented artists in Hong Kong who deserve recognition and appreciation. The underground lowbrow art movement is common in Europe and America, but still not popular in Hong Kong, indeed there is something going on and well in the city” - Jane Zimmermann, Director of ufoArtgallery