Artist Name: Noble Wong (Wong Chi Ho)
Name of art piece: “昔日大角咀” (The Past in Tai Kok Tsui)
Art piece description:
The sampan and the coolie at the bottom of each mural transports the audience to the old days of Tai Kok Tsui. The various scenes and items represent industries, transport, events and activities where one can feel the vibrancy of the past from this colourful mural.
Who is Noble Wong and his style of work?
My name is Noble Wong, I was an IT software engineer before I became a full-time illustrator and mural painter 5 years before. Sounds like I quit a stable job, right? In fact, I love my current job much more! I am happy to have participated in many interesting projects in Hong Kong.
I usually use watercolour and ink for my sketches and illustrations, and paint and spray for my murals. I love capturing details and putting them in a realistic and colourful way. I am inspired by my own experience, such as the buildings and shops I visited, the people I met and the stories I heard. So my artworks are actually showing my life in Hong Kong.
Working with Weave: Weave Studios – Olympic mural project
Preparation Stage
Where did you first find your inspiration and preparation for your Weave Art?
I came across a study about the history of Tai Kok Tsui almost the same time I was invited by Weave. I had no idea about the history of Tai Kok Tsui although I had worked there for several years before. I wanted to show in the mural how this place was like in the past, Then I found out how people made a living, what games they played, what festivals they celebrated, etc. These were what I wanted to show in the mural. It is called “昔日大角咀” (The Past in Tai Kok Tsui).
Challenges and Learning: During the Creation
This piece is more than 4 metres high. Scaffolding was put up and the platform divided the piece into upper and lower parts. I needed to work on each part separately and later connected them carefully with detailed measurement in order not to distort the shapes. But I could not see the result until the scaffolding and hoardings were removed after I have completed the mural. So that was not an easy task.
In the first two days when I started working on the site. The hoardings were not put up at that time and people could see me draw the outline and paint. They seemed curious, asked me about the mural and some even asked for my business card. I enjoyed the interaction with people when I was not rushing for deadline.
Reflection
It was a pleasant experience to work with the Weave team because of their trust and encouragement throughout the project. They gave me much freedom to do the design and that was very important to me.
To see more of Noble's work, check out the following links:
www.facebook.com/noblesketch
www.noblesketchbook.com
@noblesketchbook
