Year 11 Visual Arts Excursion to HKMoA

On 13 May, Year 11 IB and HSC students embarked on a trip to HKMoA (Hong Kong Museum of Art) to witness two exhibitions. Firstly, ‘Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West’, which displayed Western and Chinese style old-fashioned gardens, and “Live: Hong Kong Art Exhibition”, an exhibition of HK’s up and coming modern artists drawing on Hong Kong’s landscape, mixing Western and Chinese culture.  

The ‘Blooming’ art exhibition focussed on tranquillity and leisure time, concentrating on little aspects of gardens, and its architectural landscape, as well as hobbies and activities taken place there. It included rulers such as Emperor Qianlong of China and King Louis XIV of France, as well as famous kingdoms such as the Palace of Versailles. Playing on the role and meaning of a garden to a nobleman and a common folk conveyed the social hierarchy of the period, and how leisure time can be either precious or a form of power. 

What highlighted visiting the ‘Blooming’ for our group of art students was seeing Claude Monet’s ‘Water Lily Pond (1900)’, and ‘Water Lilies (1906)’ in person. The overwhelming beauty and skill of this artwork was incredible to see in person and moved many of us. This exhibition brought inspiration to the IB cohort, helping them build and idea of what they want their final art exhibition to look like in Year 12, focusing on how manipulated surroundings of light work, projections and even building alterations took the artwork that extra step forward in presentation. Whereas, for the HSC students this was an impeccable time to focus on exam skills, filling out a booklet as they went, full of exam style questions using the four frames. They had also just begun their Impressionism unit, recently looking at Monet’s work, so witnessing it in the flesh was very beneficial. 

The second exhibition was on Hong Kong contemporary art. The group of 19 artists refused to let traditional frameworks constrain them and instead they created unique, postmodern, individual pieces. There was a mixture of cross mediums, use of ready-made items and digital media. This was especially useful for our HSC students when discussing and analysing the post-modern frame, it also gave inspiration. Below this exhibition was another mini show of the 19 artists process of creation, inviting the audience to sit in the chair (literally, each artist had their chair they worked in) of a contemporary Hong Kong artist and delve into their individual creative process. This was especially beneficial for IB students, as it is exactly what they must do with their process portfolio, which is included in their final grade. 

Overall, the excursion of HKMoA provided both cohorts with valuable insight, inspiration and connections to our coursework, as Year 11, HSC student Bell Thomas reflected, “I was able to apply my knowledge of four frames to famous paintings, and gain inspiration through the abstract modern sculptures.” The excursion was a truly fun and educational experience. 

EmIly Wilkie, Secondary Teacher, Head of Year 11