216 The Traffic Light

Pun Ka Man
The Traffic Light (2024)
Oil on Wood
60 x 90 cm

Artist statement
The inspiration for The Roof comes from the alienation of people's relationships after the pandemic. It depicts a quiet scene of buildings under soft sunlight, giving people a sense of peace and tranquility. Strong diagonal lines and geometric shapes make the painting more vivid. The painting demonstrates the artist’s approach to painting: rearranging the composition, cropping close-ups, and simplifying details to create a flat perspective with muted tones. The fine brushstrokes of the oil painting are clearly visible, enhancing the large, flat blocks of color.

Introduction 
Pun Ka Man Carmen is a painter based in Hong Kong. Her artistic journey has been greatly influenced by her studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Visual Arts. During this time, she developed a distinctive approach, with her major practice focused on landscape painting based on photographs, using oil on wood.

Artistic Philosophy

Inspired by the disconnection between people and their surroundings, Carmen's work explores this theme within the familiar urban landscapes of Hong Kong. She is particularly interested in the themes of loneliness and the crowded solitude that defines life in an overpopulated city. Her work is characterized as autoethnographic, combining personal experiences with broader societal issues, allowing individuals to reflect on their own experiences of loneliness while shifting the concern from personal to public.

Techniques and Mediums

Carmen employs an acrylic base and colored pencils to lay the groundwork, followed by thin layers of oil paint. This technique allows the textured brushstrokes of the colored pencil to remain visible, creating depth and emotional resonance in each piece. Additionally, she incorporates geometric shapes to enhance the visual language of her work. These shapes serve to simplify complex environments and create a sense of structure, emphasizing the emptiness within crowded settings. The interplay between organic forms and geometric precision further accentuates the themes of isolation and introspection.

Creative Process

Her visual methodologies involve rearranging compositions, close-up cropping, and simplifying details to create a flattened perspective with muted color tones, enhancing the themes of isolation and the emotional landscape of urban life. By painting from her own photographs, which are not intended to depict reality, Carmen creates a virtual space that allows viewers to escape and find solace amidst the chaos of daily life. This resonates with universal emotions, encouraging audiences to interpret their own experiences of loneliness.