//Artspiration_Space/ Black Box- Creative Theatre

Blackbox theatres became popular in Hong Kong back in the 80’s. The walls of these theatres are predominantly painted black, and actors perform in a relatively small space. Almost within arm’s reach of their audience, performing groups can minimize cost and worry-free of the box office. The interaction between actors and the audience create intimacy, fancied by many performing groups.

Theatre Horizon rented an old unit at an industrial building in Tai Kok Tsui. The unit was modified into three performance spaces. The close interaction with audience is a unique performing style that invites the audience into the plays. For example, in The Lu-tings, a piece that reflects the history and social situation of Hong Kong, written by art director Chu-hei Chan, the merman Lu-ting not only tells his stories, he also invites the audience to experience them.

The We Draman Group established their blackbox theatre at an industrial building in San Po Kong. Director Ivor presents a rearranged play-reading of the French existentialism philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. The theatre is transformed into a karaoke room, which represents the realm that the protagonist went to after death. The audience is drawn into the play and invited to reflect on the story. This is the charm of blackbox theatres.



//Artspiration_Stories/     King-sum Tong (Visual Artist)

In the 60’s of the last century, a young man began to study arts. He learned to draw on his own and became a disciple of the renowned sculptor Yi Zhang. He was established as a sculptor himself in the 80’s, known to many as King-sum Tong. It’s been seven years since he passed away, and his family, friends and disciples organized an exhibition to share his stories. Let us look into the journey of this artist.

They all mentioned that the fault of King-sum’s body did not stop him from making art a career. Instead, it became a force that motivated him to put in the hard work. From the gigantic wooden sculptures, one can see his passion in life. Between the 70’s and 80’s, King-sum was a full-time civil servant. All of his creations were completed during his spare time. His involvement with art is an experience shared by many artists of the past generation. His wife, Mrs. Wai-yee Tong, talked about the time when he was in the hospital, King-sum persisted to stay fit so that he could recover. His beliefs can be found in his artworks and lifestyle.



//Artspiration_Laughter/ The Enigmatic Dali Atomicus

American Latvian photographer Philippe Halsman appreciates the imagination of surrealism artist Salvador Dali. Halsman decided to incorporate his photography with Dali’s novelty thoughts. The two created many wonderful photographs in the 40’s. With reference to Dali’s Leda Atomica, Halsman invited Dali to be in the photograph along with the water thrown from a bucket, three cats flying and many other items. After 28 attempts, Halsman captured the enigmatic Dali Atomicus.