《賽馬.香港》沙田馬場委約創作項目2024

香港賽馬會委約的沙田馬場壁畫項目「賽馬‧香港」分為兩個階段。第一階段在2023年完成,主要是關於賽馬運動的側面描寫,除了沙田馬場和彭福公園的地區歷史發展的研究外,也涉獵到一些賽馬運動較少關注的環節,包括馬術運動、馬房生活、晨課操練等;同時嘗試在文化角度切入,表現賽馬運動與香港社會密不可分的關係。

電視屏幕一直是我接觸賽馬運動的方式,這份莫名的距離感讓我開始關注不同持份者接收賽馬資訊的渠道。我嘗試在作品中還原賽馬日時候的茶餐廳場景,「公仔箱」電視播放著「賽馬直播」;侍應邊應付工作邊在耳機中留意賽事發展;茶客在用餐時聚焦在馬報和投注卡,伴隨著高呼馬匹名字和號碼的一片吶喊叫囂,重塑了賽馬日的本土日常風景。

在2024年完成的第二階段,保留了工筆畫的細膩和嚴謹,主要呈現了賽馬運動歷史性的高光時刻。馬王「金鎗六十」光榮退役,意味著牠將消失在大氣電波之中。中國藝術史上有一幅《古帝王圖》,畫了十三位帝王形象。我嘗試繪畫一幅《歷代馬王圖》,把「金鎗六十」短暫而輝煌的競賽生涯列入永恆的馬王史冊當中。

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's commissioned mural project at the Sha Tin Racecourse, “Racing in HK City”, is divided into two phases. The first phase, to be completed in 2023, will focus on the indirect description of horse racing. In addition to studying the historical development of the Sha Tin Racecourse and Penfold Park, the project will also cover some aspects of horse racing that have received less attention, such as equestrian sports, stable life, morning exercises, etc. At the same time, the project will also attempt to explore a cultural perspective and express the inextricable relationship between horse racing and the society of Hong Kong.

The TV screen has always been my way of accessing horse racing, and this inexplicable distance has made me start to pay attention to the channels through which different stakeholders receive information about horse racing. I try to recreate the scene of a café on a race day in my work. The vintage TV broadcasting “Live Racing”, the waiters keeping track of the race on their headphones while doing their work, the customers focusing on the racing form and betting cards while dining, accompanied by the shouts and clamor of calling out the names and numbers of the horses, all recreate the local daily scene of a horse race day.

The second phase, completed in 2024, retains the subtlety and rigor of the Gongbi painting and focuses on the historical moment of horse racing. The honorable retirement of the Horse of the Year, Golden Sixty, means he will disappear from the airwaves. In Chinese art history, there is a painting “Thirteen Emperors Scroll” which depicts thirteen emperors. I am trying to paint a mural of the “Horse of the Year of All Time” to include the short but outstanding racing career of Golden Sixty in the everlasting history of the Horse of the Year.

《賽馬.香港》沙田馬場委約創作項目2023