Chris Huen Sin Kan

Chris Huen Sin Kan puts life’s fleeting moments at the centre of his work. He describes his paintings as "an accumulation of scenes from daily life", creating large scale oil paintings of his wife, children and dogs. These snatches of domesticity are mixed with scenes of the outdoors. Time and space become flexible, while day and night are combined – both seamlessly taking place across a single canvas. He paints from memory and forgoes working from sketches or photos. Instead, he uses a technique inspired by Chinese ink painting. This traditional method prioritises channelling the spirit of a subject over direct imitation, leaving areas of background blank. Huen does the same, giving space to intricate brushwork and alluding to gaps in his memories. He also replicates the texture of ink, thinning oils down with turpentine to create a calligraphic line.

The introspective nature of Huen's work rejects the idea that art must inspire change. Instead, he says, "art helps us to witness the changes for the time being". 2019-2020 marked a time of extreme political unrest in his home, Hong Kong. As its citizens protested to maintain their autonomy, Huen turned to painting for some respite. Instead of allowing the anger to seep into his work, he found solace in his family, letting a multitude of experiences play out in each image.