The path to becoming an artist is full of detours for Agnes Pang Shuk-yee. Despite a fine arts degree from the University of Hong Kong, it was another 20 years before she returned to her first love.
In that time, Pang obtained degrees in law, business administration and Japanese from various universities, and worked as a gallery art consultant, author, column writer, event management professional, TV host, art and language tutor, and etiquette trainer.
"People often call artists 'poor.' To me, 'poor' doesn't just mean a lack of money - it's also a lack of knowledge or life experience," she said. "If I had started as an artist immediately after I graduated, I would have been very superficial. I have been making art for the past 20 years, and my art is now more mature than when I first graduated."
It is through these life experiences that Pang observed how unhappy Hongkongers were. "Hong Kong people work too hard. They don't have time to enjoy their lives and they are too materialistic," she said.
This is why Pang wants to make art: "Art gives me happiness. I love to do art."
She believes happiness can be found in the simplest things of life - even in unwanted objects such as clamshells from the dinner table, which she transforms into flower decors.
"My art is simple. I use things like vegetable wraps and toilet rolls to create something very beautiful."
One of Pang's personal favorite is her acrylic painting, She is a real artist - Cleaning Lady, in which she depicts a scene common to Hong Kong: an elderly cardboard collector.
The message behind it is simple: respect people no matter their status or position.
Clean and simple messages are apparent in most of Pang's works, which could be at least partially attributed to Pang's work with children. Pang has her own art studio, where she aims to teach her students creativity.
"I am not like those traditional teachers who tell their students to simply copy what I do. I would rather teach them how to develop their own individual styles."
Pang hopes to teach her students to be creative with everyday materials much like her own artworks. "You don't have to buy things to create and show your creativity."
Recently, she has been creating artworks with an underwater motif.
"When I was staying at home during the pandemic, I thought of the phrase yu le wu qiong - that is, looking at sea creatures can calm and relax you. This was my inspiration."
The phrase is used as the Chinese title for ATV's slow television show Telefision. And even though Pang never watched it, she can relate to the idea of relaxing by just watching fish.
Her most recent multimedia work Coral incorporates paintings of tropical fish into a collage of foam nets, normally used to pack fruits and vegetables, arranged as a coral reef.
Also part of the ongoing underwater motif are the acrylic paintings Under the sea (2020) and Corals (2020). The underwater seascapes are currently on display in group show +VE/-VE in Kwun Tong until September.
Pang also used the Chinese phrase as the title of her latest exhibition. She transformed the food court of Cityplaza into an undersea paradise.
Made from cardboard and foam nets, these fish serve as a reminder to reduce plastic packaging waste.
This will be the second Mid-Autumn Festival collaboration between Pang and Cityplaza's Treats and will last until October 2.
While some artists want their works exhibited in galleries, Pang likes holding shows in everyday places because that is where she can share eco-friendly messages with the public and hopefully encourage them to find happiness in their daily lives.
"Creating art with recycled materials is very meaningful and what I do is simple. After looking at my artwork, people can do it themselves too."
