Inspired by poet Leung Ping Kwan (a.k.a Yesi), artist Koon Wai Boon pays tribute to the symbol of nobility, strength and humility represented by bamboo in his eponymous artwork. Meanwhile, Yesi’s new poem Leaf Connection is one of the most significant works in modern Hong Kong literature. Through the imagery of walking in a lotus field, the poem metaphorically explores communication between individuals, self-preservation, and finding meaning in the world, while also opening up a vast and expansive realm of possibilities.

Only Chinese version available

Koon Wai Bong (b.1974) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fine Arts at the National Taiwan Normal University. He earned his BA (1996) and MFA (2002) from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and later his DFA from RMIT University in 2012. His artistic oeuvre centres around landscape painting and the aesthetics of ink painting, with a focus on integrating history, modern viewing experiences, and perceptions of landscapes into his ink art. He has actively participated in landscape-based projects such as “Here & There” (HK, 2023), “Picturing Hong Kong” (HK, 2017), and “Hong Kong Waters and Korean Mountains” (HK, 2019). His works have been collected by Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Ashmolean Museum, M+ and Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Leung Ping Kwan (1949-2013), widely known by the pen name Yesi, was a prominent Hong Kong poet, novelist, essayist, academic and photographer. He left Hong Kong in the late 1970s to pursue his studies in the US, with a special focus on the relationship between modern Chinese poetry and Western modernism. Upon his return, he taught at The University of Hong Kong and later at Lingnan University. He dedicated his whole life to writing, research and teaching.