selected articles on  ~flight~ :  KOMPAS Daily  |  Sunday, 20 February 2005  |  Indonesian

LIE FHUNG'S SEARCHING WINGS

Wings might represent various meanings. They could symbolize an escapade; running away from a problem, but they could also symbolize an exploration into ourselves; to find out who we are. It is the latter meaning of wings that Lie Fhung, a Jakarta woman born on August 19th, 1969 is exploring through her work framed in the theme of 'flight'.

Wings are the physical manifestation of Lie Fhung's porcelain-dominated work although she also made use of other medium such as copper, brass and stainless steel as well as binder's boards and acrylic. Indeed, porcelain was her major interest during her study at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). However, her later life journey and experience brought forth other mediums to her attention. That's why she prefers not to call herself ceramic artist for she found this term as too limiting.



Upon entering the exhibition space of CP artspace in Jl. Suryopranoto, Central Jakarta, we'll be struck by the vision of brass cages of about 15-20 cm in size hung from the ceiling. Wings made of porcelain were tied up inside them.

Not far from them, there was a row of transparent bottles hung upside down, and again, there were wings inside - but this time, they were made of fine copper and brass wire-mesh. These were two of Lie Fhung's works, titled "Invisible Cages" and "Self-Exiled". All her works here were relatively small in size. This is her way to invite the visitors to get closer to her works; to observe the details and to make free intepretation of her works.

Another work took shape in a row of tiny wings and hearts swaying on the tip of stainless wire poles, with the figure of a winged woman at one end - all of these were housed inside a wooden box nailed to the wall with a back-light revealing the translucency of the delicate wings. Fhung called this work "Wandering Souls". Other wings seemed to be breaking free from the clutch of the curvy wires or from inside the ball-like wire structure as the given title "Soaring" suggested. The light thoughtfully arranged in the dimness of the space lent a certain quietness to the space which was made joyful by the beauty of the wings alongside the colorful hearts.



However, Fhung's work could also be a 'tumultous' one. Inside a box structure on the wall, there was a heart shaped by various wire. On it's side, a dash of bright red paint on a black background was connected by a wire to a painting of an embryo inside a box - reminded us to the way Frida Kahlo identified herself in her work through a personal dialogue. This work is titled "Struggle".

According to Fhung who is living in Hong Kong, "Struggle" is talking about the dilemma she is facing as a wife who has just restarting her artistic life between dedicating her life to her vocation with her wish to be a mother, a problem experienced by many women.

***

Graduated from Fine Arts Department of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), in Ceramics Major in 1994, Fhung has exhibited her porcelain installation in Bandung titled "Crisis" (1994) which was also her final project and which subsequently was exhibited in Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta (1995).

Upon graduating from ITB, with the wide interest she had for the design field, she taught herself in website building and then in 1998-2000 she was flown to Shanghai to work as a toys designer before finally was relocated to Hong Kong in 2002. Nevertheless, Fhung felt that it wasn't her true world. Thus in 2004, she went back to creating works of art. This time, it was a conscious, examined decision; no longer based on impulse.

'Flight' is actually a continuation from her work exhibited in The National Gallery in December 2004 which was called "Pre-Flight", in a group exhibition titled "Young Indonesian Ceramic Artists".

Porcelain, as 'unforgiving' as it was according to Fhung because of its lack of plasticity compared to other types of clay, has translucent property which enabled it to reveal the layers beneath when made thin. Fhung's wings were made by hands and gave the impression of made of feathers. Their small size was also related to the fact of how limited is an affordable space for her to work in in Hong Kong.

Her experience in jewelry design and making brought forth Fhung's interest - who as a child was interested mainly in painting - to using various metal in her current work.

With these small wings, Fhung wanted to convey that she was just getting ready to fly and her journey ahead is still long. From her search of identity as an Indonesian of Chinese-descendants who carries a Chinese name but doesn't feel entirely Indonesian nor Chinese - even when she was living in Shanghai which placed her into a perpetual solitude, to her search as an artist and a woman.

Fhung's journey has just begun, but her work to be displayed until 16 March 2005 showed that she has prepared her wings well. (NMP) 2005©Ninuk Mardiana Pambudy

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