Interview with
Hong Wai

1. Tell us more about the Lace Pleated Calligraphy (Calligraphie de dentelle)?

I use hardened lace to fold and shape characters, blending the dual qualities of strength and delicacy. Lace, as a material, carries an ambiguous gendered symbolism: while often associated with femininity, it was also a marker of power and prestige among French male aristocrats in the 16th century. This duality makes it a compelling medium for calligraphy.
In terms of content, I shift the discourse of calligraphy away from imperial authority and classical texts, redirecting it toward the voices of everyday people and the richness of Hong Kong’s popular culture.
 
I incorporate non-traditional gender elements from Hong Kong pop culture—such as Anita Mui’s allure and strength, Leslie Cheung’s androgyny, and Anthony Wong’s rebellious femininity. This innovative attempt blends Eastern and Western cultures, fusing art with pop culture, while creating a dialogue between different gender identities.

2. Do lace and calligraphy go hand in hand in Chinese tradition?

Chinese calligraphy is indeed deeply rooted in a very masculine tradition! Traditionally, calligraphy belonged to the literati—educated men tasked with serving the imperial court. Calligraphy became their tool for communicating with the emperor, who was always the idealized audience for their writing. Even today, in 2025, when we practice calligraphy, we can still feel the inherited solemnity and reverence shaped by centuries of this tradition. The shadow of imperial authority still lingers over this art form.
 
This is why I aim to create a new kind of calligraphy, one that transcends these traditional frameworks in both form and content.
 
In these sculptures, I chose to pair it with lace—a highly feminine decorative art, traditionally crafted in the silence of monasteries and draped over the bodies of women in high society—to cross boundaries, much like the one I crossed when I came to live in Paris. And society evolves ! But you know my work isn’t just about cultural fusion or gender dynamics—it’s about the beautiful impossibility of being just one thing in a world that demands multiplicity.

3. If you were at the airport facing the departure board, where would you like to go?

I hope to go to a place with beautiful scenery or a place rich in cultural diversity. Most importantly, I wish to have a companion—someone who can accompany me to a destination where we can create together or hold an exhibition. This companion could be my family, my daughter, or my friends. We could share inspiration and feelings with one another.”

4. Where can we have a chance to meet you?

In my studio most of the time!

5. What are you passionnante about?

It must be creating—turning inspiration into works. I love traveling, making friends, and living in different cities. The contrasts of diverse cultures often spark bursts of inspiration for me.

6.What are the flaws you prefer in others? And in yourself?

I like straightforward people who honestly tell me what they see, what they like, and what they don’t like, showing me their truest selves—because that’s the kind of person I am too

7. An ideal food menu?

I deeply appreciate Cantonese cuisine, but I also love a ten-course menu of French or Japanese cuisine. Filled with surprises and creativity, they offer a completely new experience for the taste buds.

8. Your favorite clothes?

Comfortable and well-designed clothes, without a specific brand. I spend very little time shopping for clothes because I choose pieces that catch my eye at first glance—I don’t intentionally look for them. I like white or vibrant colors and rarely wear black because I’m not a quiet or serious person.

9. A cause you feel strongly about?

Climate, equality between men and women.

10. An advice or a sentence that struck you?

“When things are at their lowest, change occurs. With change comes flow, and with flow comes longevity.”

11. A movie, a book or a music you love?

Recently, I’ve been creating a series of works about CantoPop, so I’ve been listening to Cantonese music a lot. I enjoy songs by Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Faye Wong, Prudence Liew, and Anthony Wong Yiu Ming. Recently, I’ve also really liked the band Little Airport.

12. A regret? A dream?

The regrets of the past are the driving force behind the dreams of the present.

13. A few words about the Landscape serie ?

In this paintings, the human body and the traditional landscape are simultaneously transformed by my personal deconstruction. Especially this Landscape series, there the landscape with mountain and water, the highest spiritual and moral metaphor in Chinese painting, is secretly deconstructed  into the voluptuous bodies. While the traditional Chinese geomancy sees the energy forces in the chains of mountains as an embodiment of dragon, I depicts this cosmic body as an undulating body of femininity, and the plants the most sensuous women’s underwear.

14. What makes you laugh?

Squid Game Season 1, Stephen Chow’s Hong Kong films.

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