Somebody who I’ve mentioned a few times before, Jasper Wong recently got interviewed by CNNGo. When you see Jasper as a person relative to his inspirations and work, you’ll be wondering how is there such a big disconnection. Even talking to some of his old classmates, Jasper’s talent while visible, his aesthetic wasn’t always on this particular road of ultimate visual stimulation. But I must say, I still don’t get people’s fascinations with Mr T. Not so much am I questioning, I just never grew up with the A-Team so much and wonder what his mystique and allure is. While the interview can be seen here… these are some interview exercepts of my favorite answers:
CNNGo: What’s with the homoerotica and pink in your work?
Wong: I use a lot of pink in my work, and I get a lot of hate mail from homophobes. For one, I’m not even gay. I just find it a nice color, and controversial. If you like pink, you’re associated with being gay. But why? Even with penises, why has it become so taboo to draw it? It’s not like no one’s seen it before.
CNNGo: Tell us about your muse, Mr. T.
Wong: I don’t even know why I started drawing him. For me, he’s the symbol of manliness. Growing up, you wonder what it is like to be a man. You grow facial hair, drive big cars, watch football. But because I’m Chinese, I can’t really grow any facial hair. I had one hair on my chest and I plucked it out.
CNNGo: How do you feel about the Hong Kong art scene?
Wong: I’ll probably get a lot of crap for this, but to be totally honest, it’s really bad.
All the galleries in Central are all into mainland Chinese art and the reason they’re into it is because it’s a good investment. If you walk into a gallery, they don’t tell you about the art, they ask you if you want a good investment. And even when they do art shows, it’s all wine and crackers. It’s so boring and repetitive, it makes art too uptight.
If I buy art, it’s because I dig it. People here who buy art, they put it in storage and wait for the price to go up again. Artists don’t make art for this reason.
I once did a show in Paris where they set up a wrestling ring at the venue. They had a wrestling match and a rock band playing at the opening, and more than 1,000 people showed up. You don’t feel, God, I don’t belong here, people are so stuffy. People should just be at art events to chat with the artist, enjoy art and have a good time.
We share sort of a similar pessimistic outlook on Hong Kong’s scene, yet you’re sort of torn on how you approach the situation. Do you concede defeat that Hong Kong’s institution of money is so firmly cemented that change is nearly impossible, or do you, yourself try to start planting seeds for growth and change?