Sweet Soup: Annysa Ng

Just last week, I was lead to the work of New York-based artist Annysa Ng by way of an open studio announcement. Named "one to watch" by The London Times, the Hong Kong-born artist studied fine art at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenen Künste in Stuttgart, Germany and the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work was included in the 2008 group exhibition Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win: Young Chinese Art at Deutsche Bank's 60 Wall Street Gallery, and is currently on view at Holser Projects in London. Below, the artist talks about her work in silhouette, just one form in her multimedia practice.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Contemporary Confections: When did you start working with the silhouette and what did you set out to achieve with this form?

Annysa Ng: My first silhouette drawing was done in 2004 when I was studying in Germany. The drawing is a silhouette of a woman from Vermeer's famous painting Woman with a Pearl Necklace. Instead of wearing a pearl necklace, mine wore dentures around her neck. The original conveys the idea of youth, but my work hints at its temporality. I borrowed Vermeer's image, because it is well-known and thus recognizable even in black. I chose the silhouette over painting the figure in full color, because I wanted the dentures to stand out even though they are rendered quite small. That drawing is now in the collection of the State Library of Stuttgart.

I did not continue to work with silhouettes after that. However, people saw my portfolio and really liked that drawing. When I was an artist-in-residence in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic (2007), the director of Egon Schiele Art Centrum asked me to make one for the museum's show following the residency. I created the silhouette as a wall mural and wove the history of the [location] through the piece. Cesky Krumlov was ruled by three main dynasties. In the mural, a woman is knitting lace, which is patterned with [their individual] coats of arms.

When I came back to New York in May 2007, I started to work on more silhouette drawings and started the "Tea Silk and Porcelain" series, which is about my heritage. I was born in Hong Kong, which is a former British colony. In this series, I combine concepts of Queen Elizabeth's ruffle collar with traditional Chinese costume.

CC: What materials were you working with prior?

AN: I am interested in different mediums. I'm still making installation and assemblage with found objects and fabric alongside my work with the silhouette. It's good to work in both 3-D and 2-D, as it satisfies my artistic appetite. For the silhouette works, I work with ink on paper first, as not to be confined by [canvas] size. I developed a way to create a movable mural, which is ink on paper mounted on PVC. Each image is a cut-out, so it can be moved and the composition changed according to the site. Though, recently, I also transferred the silhouette images onto canvas.

CC: Are you generally inspired by fashion and attire?

AN: As I mentioned, the East-West fusion in my work is related to Hong Kong's cultural history. We absorbed the influences of foreign cultures, yet the one and one-half century absence from China did not efface our heritage and links with the mother culture. The fusion has developed into the indigenous. I use costume to represent this idea. I like fashion; it may not show the full inner workings of a person, but attire, especially uniforms, [to some degree] suggest a person's qualities. A policeman's or fire fighter's uniform, for instance, suggests heroism. Fashion also tells time. In Chinese history, each dynasty had different fashions and make-up. Modern trends also change almost annually, so every season I window shop for inspiration.

CC: Let's end with dessert. What do you like? What would you recommend?

AN: I used to like dessert a lot, but for a healthier diet, I cut it down a little bit. As Thanksgiving is coming, I'd recommend the Three Berry Pie from Dessert Delivery in midtown. Bouchon Bakery in Columbus Circle has great macaroons, cakes and breads. However, I cannot find a good sweet soup place in Chinatown. Sweet soup is a Chinese dessert; it's a soothing and comforting food for me. There are many varieties, such as sweet red bean soup, sweet potato in syrup, and soft bean curd in syrup.

Annysa Ng's work will be on view at Vanina Holasek Gallery on Nov. 10, 2008 as part of Passport to the Arts.

Images appear in the following order: "Tea Silk and Porcelain (Ancestor Painting III)", detail, 2008; "A Woman with a Pearl Necklace", 2004; "Vitava", 2007. Acrylic wall mural, 84 x 28 inches; "Tea Silk and Porcelain Mural", 2007. Ink on paper mounted on PVC, 90 x 90 inches; "Tea Silk and Porcelain (Ancestor Painting III)", 2008. Ink on paper, dimensions unknown; "Tea and Porcelain", 2007. Ink on paper, 30 x 22 inches; All images courtesy of the artist. Interview conducted via e-mail.