10 Questions: Gordon Cheung

Gordon Cheung is of Hong Kong origin and born in London 1975 where he lives and works. Cheung’s multi-media art capture the hallucinations between the virtual and actual realities of a globalised world oscillating between Utopia and Dystopia. Spray paint, oil, acrylic, pastels, stock listings and ink collide in his works to form epic techno-sublime vistas.

 

1/ How did you know that you wanted to become an artist? 
The joy of making art is one of my earliest memories. To be an artist was the clearest purpose in my life other than a brief moment when I wanted to be an astronaut around 5 years old. 

2/ How would you describe your art? 
Multi-media photo collage paintings questioning narratives and myths of the rise and fall of civilisations. 

3/ Is it hard to be an artist? 
When you love what you do, the hardship you feel is worth it. 

4/ What is your greatest achievement so far? 
Being a full-time artist. 

5/ Which contemporary artists do you follow? 
There are way too many to name and they keep changing. 

6/ What do you do when you are not happy with the result? 
Persevere or leave it alone and move onto something else. Sometimes it is left for years before I realize what is needed. 

7/ Do you need to explain your art? 
Most people seem to connect to my art at some level but like most art the deeper you want to understand, empathise and comprehend, it will mean having to find out. I am always contemplating about the art that I make myself because I am usually exploring and constructing something new. It is the questions that compel you to make more art. 

8/ Do you want to try something else in the future? 
I will always be trying something else in the future. How else would you develop your art? 

9/ What are you afraid of? 
Dying slowly alone, unloved and without anyone you love. 

10/ What is your ultimate dream? 
To live a life of few regrets and fulfilled more than I dreamed.