By Tinny Cheng, Founder of The Culturist
“In this world, changes never come to a standstill, not even for a single moment.” Change alone, is eternal and perpetual.
Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get.” Yet, artist Rona Hu believes that everyone looks at life in their own unique way, as if reflections synthesised from a kaleidoscope with different prismatic facets, illuminating the ever-changing world.
“The world as I see it, is actually different from yours,” said Rona Hu, who learned to paint at the mere age of 8 and has then spent half of her life roaming between the East and West. Tender-hearted, sentimental, and amiable, Rona draws inspiration from society and daily life, and then explores scenarios of life with the audience through her brushstrokes, in a variety of visual expressions. Her “Kaleidoscope” series was first presented at the Hong Kong Arts Centre in 2017, where unique colours were splashed onto the canvas, revealing the diversity and infinite changes of the world.
Amidst the pandemic, the world came to a standstill. Yet, the artist’s brushstrokes and stream of thoughts have never ceased to flow.
In our existence, all anguish and agony are born from the heart. Rona believes that only in solitude and adversity does one grow. The pandemic has prompted her to explore one very question – do adversities that nature brings to humankind evolve into life’s driving force?
As a continuation of the infinite variations of the “Kaleidoscope”, the latest “A Ray of Light” exhibition series marks a resplendent new dimension in Rona’s creative art. Through oil paintings, digital art, sculptures, and installations, and her unique artistic vocabulary, she brings spectators into her world of art, using colour as the inner guiding anchor to grapple with the turmoil and impermanence of the outside world.
The kaleidoscope is ever-changing. At a certain angle, a monstrous figure is spotted, but another angle reveals a blossoming rose. This opens up a logic alike to Rona’s musings – she has always regarded the human world as a playground, brimming with unbridled fun or hearty tears.
Rona’s paintings are akin to the soliloquy of her life. In a ray of light, she reveals her candid self, which splendidly shimmers in the darkness.
