Simon McCheung
Simon McCheung, Happy Hour (2015)
C-Type Matt photo paper print 28 x 28 inches Edition of 25 
Simon McCheung, Insomnia (2012)
C-Type Matt photo paper print 28 x 28 inches Edition of 25 
Simon McCheung, Somewhere That Matters (2012)
C-Type Matt photo paper print 28 x 28 inches Edition of 25 Each image £800 All three images courtesy of the artist and Beaux Arts London |
Having parents who emigrated from Hong Kong to a deprived part Cleethorpes in the late 1970s led to a sheltered childhood for fine art photographer Simon McCheung. Rarely being allowed out, he day-dreamed and imagined life elsewhere; however it is that desire to escape that has significantly informed his work.
Enchanted by his first visit to Tokyo in 2015, McCheung also saw the downside of living in the city - long working hours, minimal annual leave, extortionate cost of living – and that people simply assumed brave faces and got on with life. ‘Happy Hour’ symbolizes the few hours of the night when it’s possible to go out and escape from normal life before it’s time to get up again: “No matter how crazy life is, how stressful your job is, you can always find peace somewhere. Even if it’s a flat cold road.” ‘Insomnia’ reflects the utter exhaustion from working long hours and the desire to fall into a deep sleep - even if it is on slabbed concrete: “I didn’t care where I was. All I wanted was to escape.” His lifeless, fatigued body propped up by the wall, but sliding inexorably towards the pavement, is beautifully conveyed in this minimalist composition. The surreal ‘Somewhere That Matters’ was taken on the empty, bleak sand dunes of Cleethorpes and reflects McCheung’s childhood wish to be elsewhere. The umbrella - an homage to Mary Poppins, the video he regularly watched as a child - and the birds symbolise his ‘getaway’ (“My ticket to fly anywhere I want”) that will take this solitary figure somewhere – anywhere - that matters more than this. For more information, see beauxartslondon.uk Hedge, issue 43, November 2016, pp66-73 |