Artists share passion for the past

By Bernice Chan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-11-08 16:42

In the industrial area of Fotan in Hong Kong's New Territories, designer Alex Lee shows off his collection of Chinese-inspired commercial products in a scholar-like office.

Passionate artist and historian Alex Lee is currently doing his PhD in Environmental Architecture at Tsinghua University in Beijing.[Chinadaily.com.cn/Photo by Bernice Chan]

Some are miniature models made to scale of Chinese architecture, from the Hakka tulou, circular buildings, to shop fronts with residences above them that are common in Guangdong Province.

His company, Joy Design creates what he calls "cultural products" to sell to those interested in Chinese culture.

"I am Chinese. I was born and live in Hong Kong and I have a mix of Chinese and Western culture," Lee explains. "I find Chinese culture a huge treasure that's precious and a good start for a Chinese designer to work on."

Lee's passion is seen in Joy Design's range of bookmarks, postcards and notebooks that feature hutong, traditional houses found only in Beijing.

Almost 25 years ago he made his first trip to Beijing and fell in love with the narrow alleyways with siheyuan or "four-sided enclosed yards".

"At that time they were preserved better than today. They are different from what we see in Hong Kong where it's functional, Western, high rises, congested.

"But in hutong, you have a different atmosphere," he continues. "They are antiques to me. They are not tall, one storey, at most two. They have a lot of Chinese elements, carvings, stone and wood cuts, a totally different feeling to me."

Lee took thousands of photographs of the hutong and tried to paint them, but not much came out of this project.

About four years ago, Lee's Beijing business partner introduced him to Kuang Han, a kindred spirit who also appreciated the simplicity of hutong.

"When Kuang Han found out we were producing these cultural products he was very excited," recalled Lee. He admires Kuang for his unique style of drawing the hutong.

"I have a book of his work and it's only of hutong in pencil sketches. He chose to use pencil, which are different from other pencil sketches. He cuts his into broad shapes like a carpenter's pencil. It's not like most artists who use sharp pencils. As an artist I can see this is his style."

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