Instagram story viewer> @smilericko> Posts

Ricko Leung | contemporary artist

@smilericko

1.5K

followers

2934

following

🔥Mixed-media art
🔛MFA @ensa_bourges + @tnuamaster_finearts
Independent curator
Editor @larrys_list

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

My heartfelt thanks to every single soul who came to the vernissage of my first solo exhibition last week! It was a moving moment to have the chance to share my art with you all! ❤️

It’s been a long, meandering way for me to become an artist, my dream since my childhood. There have been disapprovals, judgments, criticisms, psychological blocks, rejections, challenges, frustrations throughout the path. Now looking back, I feel tremendously grateful that I didn’t give up on this previously unbelievable dream despite all these obstacles. 🥹 Words cannot express my endless gratitude to those who’ve generously given me support and encouragements and to those who have believed in me and in my art along the way. That includes myself because I’ve fought (and am still fighting) hard to make this dream come true; and I guess I believed in it a tiny little bit amidst all the self-criticisms and self-doubts. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Thus, the exhibition theme is infused with my own life experiences and struggles, which I hope can resonate with those of some others.

🔥 REBORN FROM THE ASHES 🔥
solo exhibition
through 25 May
@galerie_j_slash
12 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, 75003 Paris
.
.
.
#vernissage #rebornfromtheashes #galeriejslash #soloexhibition #galleryexhibition #exhibitioninparis #soloshow #contemporaryartexhibition taken in Paris, France by @smilericko

148

7

2 years ago

SUPER THRILLED for my first gallery solo exhibition opening in 10 days! 🔥🔥 Please come to share this special occasion with me! ⚡️
(La description en français en bas ⬇️)

/ REBORN FROM THE ASHES /

In a world of constant destruction and reconstruction, ‘Reborn from the Ashes’ embodies the quest for resilience and healing in the face of adversity. Born of an intimate exploration of the artist’s personal experience, this solo exhibition weaves together sculptures, installations, images, and texts. It invites deep contemplation on how adversity and destruction can lead to renewed creation and transformation, and how each ordeal can open the way to a new form of healing and beauty.

26 April -25 May 2024
Vernissage: 6-9pm, Thursday, 25 April
@galerie_j_slash
12 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, 75003 Paris

[FR] Dans un monde en constante destruction et reconstruction, Reborn from the Ashes incarne la quête de résilience et de guérison face à l’adversité. Née d’une exploration intime de l’expérience personnelle de l’artiste, cette exposition solo tisse des liens entre des sculptures, des installations, des images et des textes. Elle invite à une contemplation profonde de la manière dont l’adversité et la destruction peuvent conduire à une création et une transformation renouvelées, et comment chaque épreuve peut ouvrir la voie à une nouvelle forme de guérison et de beauté.

26 avril -25 mai 2024
Vernissage: jeudi 25 avril, 18-21h
Galerie j /
12 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, 75003 Paris
.
.
.
#contemporaryart #contemporaryartist #soloshow #soloexhibtion #galleryexhibition #artexhibitionparis #galeriejslash #rebornfromtheashes #healing #renewal taken in JPS ART Gallery PARIS by @smilericko

336

37

2 years ago

Big Brother’s Eye, 2022
Stoneware, glaze, analogue photo print, resin epoxy, and fabric
46 x 34 x 5.5 cm

This work explores the relationship between fear, gaze, surveillance, protection and control, inspired by the ubiquitous surveillance cameras in Istanbul, one of which was captured here with my film camera during my trip there. Surveillance cameras, often deliberately intimidating, are called "the eye of heaven" in my mother tongue Cantonese. The eye has become a symbol of surveillance and the fear of being watched, just like in the silent science fiction film Metropolis. This idea is linked to the iconic Mediterranean eye amulet,🧿 the nazar boncuk ("nazar": Arabic origin meaning "sight" and "surveillance"), which protects people from the envious gaze of others.

🇫🇷 Cette œuvre explore les relations entre la peur, le regard, la surveillance, la protection et le contrôle, inspirée de l’omniprésence de caméras de surveillance à Istanbul. Les caméras de surveillance, souvent délibérément intimidantes, sont appelées « l'œil du ciel » dans ma langue maternelle. L'œil est devenu un symbole de la surveillance et de la peur d'être observé, tout comme dans le film muet de science-fiction Metropolis. Cette idée est liée à l'amulette typique méditerranéenne en forme d'œil, le nazar boncuk (« nazar » : d'origine arabe signifiant « vue » et « surveillance »), qui protège les gens du regard envieux d'autrui.
.
.
.
#mixedmediasculpture #mixedmediaart #ceramicsculpture #contemporarysculpture #analogphotography #ceramicandtextile #contemporaryart #surveillancecamera #surveillance #nazarboncuk by @smilericko

130

9

4 years ago

From Cycles to Cycles, 2025
Installation with unglazed stoneware, charred wood, cotton, vegetable dye, various medicinal plant ingredients, audio soundtrack
Dimensions variable

This installation was inspired by my reflections on the history of witch hunts in Europe and my personal experience of using traditional Chinese medicine to improve problems with my period after modern western medicine failed to offer a solution. Using plants for healing connects the cycles in our bodies with the cycles in nature followed by plants.
Then, I thought, what if those women/men who possessed the ancient knowledge of phytotherapy were not persecuted during the witch hunt? What if their knowledge could benefit people nowadays like how traditional Chinese medicine helped me? How might healing be perceived and practised differently nowadays?

[FR] Cette installation s’inspire de mes réflexions sur l’histoire des chasses aux sorcières en Europe et de mon expérience personnelle : j’ai eu recours à la médecine traditionnelle chinoise pour soulager mes problèmes menstruels après que la médecine occidentale moderne eut échoué à m’apporter une solution. L’utilisation des plantes à des fins thérapeutiques établit un lien entre les cycles de notre corps et ceux de la nature, auxquels les plantes se conforment.
Je me suis alors demandé : et si ces femmes et ces hommes qui possédaient les savoirs ancestraux de la phytothérapie n’avaient pas été persécutés lors de la chasse aux sorcières ? Et si leurs connaissances peuvent aujourd’hui profiter aux gens, tout comme la médecine traditionnelle chinoise m’a aidée ? Comment la guérison serait-elle perçue et pratiquée différemment de nos jours ? by @smilericko

73

3

a month ago

Throwback to the first time exhibiting my works in Seoul in the group exhibition JPS Gallery x Paradise City │ 1 Gallery Art Fair in October 2024, where four works from my Between Ruptures series (2023) was presented. I made use of glazed ceramic and textile materials to explore the complex emotions related to ruptures.
The exhibition featured over thirty artists working across a spectrum of scales and mediums. This presentation aims to redefine the boundaries of what an art fair and exhibition can be.

[FR] Retour sur ma première exposition à Séoul, dans le cadre de l’exposition collective « JPS Gallery x Paradise City │ 1 Gallery Art Fair » en octobre 2024, où quatre œuvres de ma série « Between Ruptures » (2023) ont été présentées. J’ai utilisé de la céramique émaillée et des matériaux textiles pour explorer les émotions complexes liées aux ruptures.
L’exposition réunissait plus de trente artistes travaillant à des échelles et avec des supports très variés. Cette présentation vise à redéfinir les limites de ce que peuvent être une foire d’art et une exposition. taken in Seoul, South Korea by @smilericko

54

2

3 months ago

A throwback to my first gallery group exhibition in Hong Kong: French May x JPS Gallery @jpsgallery | Un regard depuis un pont (A Glimpse from a Bridge) in June to July 2024! Time flies!

Grateful to have the chance to showcase my I Don’t See the Big Picture Yet series for the first time in public, accompanied by two other works previously presented in my solo exhibition in Paris, Reborn from Ashes, earlier in 2024.

Being able to exhibit my work back in the hometown where I was burned and raised always carries special meaning and extra significance for me. Even though I wasn’t physically present, my friends and family could somehow connect with me in spirit through my work. 😌💖 Also, my work was able to reach some new audience there who discovered my work for the first time ever, which is truly thrilling! 🔥🔥

1st image (left to right):
Which Witch and Wood Would Be Burnt, 2024
I Don’t See the Big Picture Yet series (4 pieces)
2nd image:
Witches Weaves, 2024 by @smilericko

59

0

5 months ago

Having started experimenting with vegetable dyeing in 2024, this was the first in-situ installation I did with vegetable-dyed fabrics back in June two years ago. Viewers are invited to walk through this web of fabrics hand-dyed using wilted flowers or vegetable waste, including onion skins, pomegranate skins, artichoke leaves, celery leaves, and tea.

Connecting the columns at the venue with these earthy-toned fabric stripes, they are imagined as a group of trees with crossing branches. As we pass through, we are compelled to bow. It is a reflection on our relationship with nature, which probably demands greater humility from us.

I also created for this installation an audio track that combines sounds of bird chirping with Tibetan singing bowl (though not the one used in this post).

[FR] Après avoir commencé à m’essayer à la teinture végétale en 2024, il s’agissait de la première installation in situ que j’ai réalisée avec des tissus teints à la plante, en juin il y a deux ans. Les visiteurs sont invités à se promener à travers ce réseau de tissus teints à la main à l’aide de fleurs fanées ou de déchets végétaux, notamment des pelures d’oignon, des écorces de grenade, des feuilles d’artichaut, des feuilles de céleri et du thé.

En reliant les colonnes du lieu d’exposition avec ces bandes de tissu aux tons ocres, elles sont imaginées comme un groupe d’arbres aux branches entrecroisées. En passant à travers, on est poussé à s’incliner. C’est une réflexion sur notre relation à la nature, qui exige sans doute davantage d’humilité de notre part.

J’ai également créé pour cette installation une bande sonore qui combine des chants d’oiseaux et le son d’un bol chantant tibétain (pas celui utilisé dans cette publication).

#artinstallations #naturaldyeing #naturallydyedfabric by @smilericko

46

1

5 months ago

Watching You, 2024
Installation with photo print mounted on wooden board, mini surveillance camera, display screen

This photograph, taken during a trip to Cassis in the south of France, shows the shocking proximity and disturbing intrusion of a surveillance camera into the environment of a house. It encourages the viewer to reflect on the interaction between security, privacy, and control.

I then developed this photo into an installation that incorporates a surveillance camera behind the mounted photo, with the surveillance video displayed on a screen in the space. With a reference to Dan Graham’s video installation, the installation creates an experience where one is being observed while observing.

Where is the line between security or protection and privacy or freedom?

[FR] Cette photo, prise lors d’un voyage à Cassis dans le sud de la France, montre la proximité choquante et l’intrusion dérangeante d’une caméra de surveillance dans l’environnement d’une maison. Elle incite le spectateur à réfléchir à l’interaction entre la sécurité, la vie privée et le contrôle.

Et puis, j’ai développé cette photo en une installation qui intègre une caméra de surveillance derrière la photo montée, avec la vidéo de surveillance affichée sur un écran dans l’espace. Avec une référence à l’installation vidéo de Dan Graham, l’installation suscite une expérience où l’on est observé tout en observant.

Quelle est la limite entre la sécurité ou la protection et la vie privée ou la liberté ? by @smilericko

36

1

9 months ago

Throwback to some installation views back in June 2024 which united most of the art projects and research since the beginning of my art practice. From surveillance to healing, migration to ecofeminism — these works wove together ceramics, textiles, photography, and installation to reflect on identity, power, and our bond with nature. 🌿 Each work became a fragment of lived experience, questioning control, resilience, memory, and regeneration. Together, they formed a dialogue between the personal and the political, the fragile and the enduring. 💫

Joining art school in 2023 was a dream come true but also an intimidating leap. Coming from a self-taught practice since 2021, I felt insecure at first. Yet within one year, through exchanges with professors and fellow students, classes, workshops, and countless hours in the studio, I grew immensely. My biggest gain wasn’t just producing work, but building confidence in my practice.

[FR] Retour sur quelques vues d’installation datant de juin 2024, qui réunissaient la plupart des projets artistiques et des recherches menés depuis le début de ma pratique artistique. De la surveillance à la guérison, en passant par la migration et l’écoféminisme, ces travaux mêlait céramique, textile, photographie et installation pour réfléchir à l’identité, au pouvoir et à notre lien avec la nature. 🌿 Chaque œuvre est devenue un fragment d’expérience vécue, remettant en question le contrôle, la résilience, la mémoire et la régénération. Ensemble, elles ont formé un dialogue entre le personnel et le politique, le fragile et le durable. 💫

Entrer à l’école d’art en 2023 était un rêve devenu réalité, mais aussi un saut intimidant. Ayant suivi une formation autodidacte depuis 2021, je me sentais d’abord peu sûre de moi. Pourtant, en l’espace d’un an, grâce aux échanges avec les professeurs et les autres étudiants, aux cours, aux ateliers et aux innombrables heures passées dans l’atelier, j’ai énormément progressé. Mon plus grand gain n’a pas été seulement de produire des œuvres, mais aussi d’acquérir de la confiance dans ma pratique. by @smilericko

63

2

a year ago

Healing Vase
2024
Glazed earthenware
42 x 25 x 25 cm

When in desperation, we wish someone could be there and say, « Let me heal you. » Gradually, I realised that I actually possess the healing power within me—a voice said, « You can heal yourself. »
This vase, linking our internal healing power with the healing power of the sea or the ocean, is a testimony of my personal experience of healing from traumas.

This was also my first time try out the historical technique of ‘sgraffito’, which was fun but took long hours to finish.

[FR] En cas de désespoir, nous souhaitons que quelqu’un soit là et nous dise : « Laisse-moi te guérir ». Peu à peu, j’ai réalisé que je possédais en fait le pouvoir de guérison en moi — une voix m’a dit : « Tu peux te guérir toi-même ».
Ce vase, qui relie notre pouvoir de guérison interne au pouvoir de guérison de la mer ou de l’océan, témoigne de mon expérience personnelle de guérison après avoir subi des traumatismes.

C’était également la première fois que j’essayais la technique historique du « sgraffito », qui était amusante mais qui m’a pris de longues heures à réaliser. by @smilericko

57

4

a year ago

Healing Vase
2024
Glazed earthenware
42 x 25 x 25 cm

Stemmed from my personal experience of healing from traumas, this vase links our internal healing power with the healing power of the sea or the ocean.
When we are wounded and struggling, we wish someone could just help us or save us from turmoil. We wish someone could be there and say, « Let me heal you. » Gradually, I realised that I actually possess the healing power within me—a voice said, « You can heal yourself. »

[FR] Issu de mon expérience personnelle de guérison après avoir subi des traumatismes, ce vase relie notre pouvoir de guérison interne au pouvoir de guérison de la mer ou de l’océan.
Lorsque nous sommes blessés et en difficulté, nous souhaitons que quelqu’un puisse simplement nous aider ou nous sauver de la tourmente. Nous souhaitons que quelqu’un soit là et nous dise : « Laisse-moi te guérir ». Peu à peu, j’ai réalisé que je possédais en fait le pouvoir de guérison en moi — une voix m’a dit : « Tu peux te guérir toi-même ». by @smilericko

42

1

a year ago

My first time experimenting with combining poetry, performance and installation, back in late 2023—my first project after joining the art school in Bourges, France

𝙀𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 (EN translation below)
Entre feuilles et feuilles,
Je n’ai même pas d’œil.

Un, deux, trois.

Mais je peux regarder,
Je peux sentir.

Entre mains et mains
Sont vos désirs sans fin.

Quatre, cinq, six.

Vous coupez sans compter,
Mais vous oubliez l’avenir.

{Between leaves and hands}
Between leaves and leaves,
I don’t even have eyes.
One, two, three.
But I can see,
I can feel.

Between hands and hands
Are your endless desires.
Four, five, six.
You cut without counting,
But you forget the future

Mesuring a Space with a Plant, 2023
Installation/performance: olive tree, red thread, poem, sound, variable dimensions
Filmed performance, 2 minutes

This installation with the audio recording of the poem stems from a performance that explores our relationship with nature, a central theme in my practice, while also focusing on the notion of measurement. Inspired by artists such as María Teresa Hincapié, Valie Export and Orlan’s MesuRAGEs, who have integrated measurement into their performances with a feminist perspective, I have combined this with research on measurement and ecology. The work critiques the relationship between humans and nature in an urban context, offering a reflection on the impact of social and political structures on nature.

[FR] Mesurer un espace avec une plante, 2023
Cette installation avec l’enregistrement du poème découle d’une performance qui explore notre relation avec la nature, un thème central dans ma pratique, en se penchant également sur la notion de mesure. Inspirée par des artistes telles que María Teresa Hincapié, Valie Export et les MesuRAGEs d’Orlan, qui ont intégré la mesure dans leurs performances avec une perspective féministe, j’ai associé cela à des recherches sur la mesure et l’écologie. Le travail critique la relation homme-nature dans un contexte urbain, offrant une réflexion sur l’impact des structures sociales et politiques sur la nature. by @smilericko

60

0

a year ago