This week in PostMag: inside Hong Kong artist Elaine Ng Yan Ling’s multidisciplinary talent

Our writers and editors explore the new wave of Chinese sci-fi beyond the 3 Body Problem, Hong Kong artist Elaine Ng Yan Ling’s multidisciplinary talent, and more

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Elaine Ng Yan Ling this week’s print issue of PostMag. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Cat Nelson

Published: 7:15am, 29 Sep 2024

So often our personal spaces are little windows into our psyche. Are they neat and orderly, tidied up with the utmost precision? Or does the multitude of things we’ve hoarded wilfully sprawl out with reckless abandon? (I’m unapologetically the latter, after a lifetime of trying to convince myself otherwise.)

Designer and artist Elaine Ng Yan Ling’s studio in Kwai Hing, Hong Kong, somehow magically inhabits the rare middle ground – ordered chaos. When PostMag photographer Jocelyn Tam and I visited to shoot this week’s issue’s cover, we picked our way between the remnants of previous installations, heavy machinery and tables covered with fabric scraps and sketches. The space is the physical manifestation of the ideas swirling in Ng’s head – ideas that resulted in her latest work, a seven-metre-long, interactive installation commissioned by The Macallan House Hong Kong. Fionnuala McHugh dives into the months-long process behind the glowing piece.

I can only imagine how it might have felt to be in the late Lain Singh Bangdel’s workspace. A similar controlled chaos? Unchained and totally free? I found myself wondering this as Bibek Bhandari traces the life of Bangdel, widely known as the father of Nepalese modern art and a pioneer of abstract expressionism. His work is on view at Rossi & Rossi in Hong Kong until November 16.

I must admit that my experience with science fiction has been limited. The last in the genre I might have read was Nineteen Eighty-Four. I’m in dire need of rectifying that, it seems. Bernard Cohen explores the new wave of Chinese sci-fi writers making an impact on the international scene, which goes far beyond the Netflix hit 3 Body Problem.

Closer to home – at least still on this planet – Tamara Hinson takes us to the Malaysian island of Langkawi, where one resort has made wildlife conservation its priority. It’s the kind of positive change we like to see, just like the holistic approaches addressing both body and mind that Kate Whitehead explores to aid those with chronic pain.

Without spoiling it completely for you, one of the solutions for a pain-free life is (surprise!) to move more. So I urge you – roll up this week’s issue, stick it in your bag and take it with you on what I hope is a very active day.