Trendi Club collaboration between Hong Kong artists Wilson Shieh and Tse Yim-on began when they were classmates

Over the past two decades, the former classmates have flourished in their own paths as visual artists. Shieh is known for his Chinese gongbi fine-line ink paintings and Tse, who is in his 40s, for his bright acrylic paintings. Each has his own perspective on how to weave Hong Kong cultural symbols into art.

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Last month, Shieh and Tse collaborated on three paintings for an exhibition called Trendi Club, which reflects on the impact of pop culture icons such as local director Stephen Chow and K-pop group Blackpink.

Though both artists have witnessed how the city’s trends have evolved since Cantopop’s golden age, this project has highlighted their unique perspectives.

“We still fight over our artworks,” Tse noted, “but we are still very close friends.”

Before pursuing art at CUHK, Shieh was studying architecture at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), but he soon realised it was not what he wanted to do.

“In architecture, we get orders to build whatever the boss wants, so I quit after a year and went to Chinese University to study arts,” Shieh said. “I like the freedom that art provides.”

He said it was crucial to enjoy what he did, not just follow orders or seek fame.

“I never wanted to be famous; I just wanted to do things I enjoy,” he added.

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Still, it was not long after Shieh graduated with his Master of Fine Arts that galleries approached him for collaborations and even began buying his work.

“No one ever had galleries approach them for art exhibitions shortly after their graduation like Shieh did,” Tse explained, adding that his peer’s success also paved the way for his own career.

“Because of Shieh, galleries began to recognise local artists and approach artists like me to showcase my paintings,” he said, adding that he came from a “grass-roots family” and used to work part-time jobs to support his art.

Tse and Shieh’s recent collaboration pushed them to new heights as they worked to meld their distinct styles.

For “The Boss Cat”, which refers to a scene from the 1973 Bruce Lee film, Enter the Dragon, Tse said he had to make the painting look less like Shieh’s.

“As a viewer, I really like how Shieh had drawn Bruce Lee; but as an artist, it’s different from how I usually draw,” said Tse, who uses unexpected colours to depict Hong Kong cultural symbols alongside elements from Japanese anime, comics and games.

To make the painting into a piece that represented both artists, Tse said he “used colour to create a sense of space and the scene of the mirror maze”.

For their joint works, Shieh left behind his usual medium, gongbi ink, and chose to follow Tse by painting with acrylic on canvas.

Tse was shocked by his partner’s skill: “When Shieh uses his gongbi techniques on canvas and with acrylic, he can draw precisely which I cannot.”

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But this also motivated Tse to improve. “It’s like competing on top of Huashan,” he said, referring to the mountain famed for hosting fictional kung fu matches.

In his advice for aspiring artists, Tse emphasised the importance of “pursuing the happiness of creation”.

“When you keep creating new paintings and discover the joy of creating an artwork, you will become addicted to art,” he said.

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