Leung Mei Ping "Underfoot, Is Land"

Leung Mei Ping is my close artist friend, one whose work I have long followed. We share a common passion for contemporary art and thought, and though we live apart (Paris-Hong Kong), we have always remained attentive to and actively engaged with the contemporary. We share nearly identical artistic sincerity and attitude, as well as similar life values and perspectives. In this vast life, it is a great comfort to have chanced upon such an artistic soulmate. Every time we meet, we have endless discussions on current art and contemporary thought, repeatedly engaging in spirited, high-minded debates, enjoying precious diverse viewpoints, savoring intellectual discourse and expressing emotional sentiments. Time always passes especially quickly, and in the end, we understand the warmth of friendship beyond words.

In today's global village and internet era, transmitting ideas or maintaining connections seems right at hand; simply opening the skylight (the internet) makes this compressed time-space the conduit for instantly relaying information in modern life. The skylight becomes a Babel tower of thought and information networks. Every day, we receive messages and images from friends all over the world in our email inboxes, along with all sorts of extraordinary and unexpected surprises. We are fortunate to live in this era of information explosion, a generation more tangible than the utopia of the Renaissance. Through blogs, we can transmit and share even deeper thoughts and worldviews—it truly could not be more wonderful.

Last week, I unexpectedly received images of new works from my distant friend Leung Mei Ping. I was very surprised by her latest creation, "Underfoot, Is Land"—a stirring, magical black "ant brick." She said: "It was created for an exhibition about public housing. It's all about some thoughts or insights on human existence. Originally, I wanted to make several hundred such ant bricks and build a wall with them." Indeed, using ants to describe the living environment in today's metropolis is very apt (especially for an exhibition about public housing), even more so in Hong Kong, a city built on reclaimed land. This work "Underfoot, Is Land" points directly to the core of contemporary urban survival conditions.

First, the theme—underfoot is land. In Hong Kong, a metropolis where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, living space and environmental conditions have been continuously deteriorating (like in many major cities). Urban architecture has always developed vertically; having living space in high-rises where one can tread on the earth seems like today's utopia. "Underfoot—Is Land," though without a question mark, is a theme of inquiry.

Second, it elucidates the relationships and conditions among the crowds living in the metropolis, individuals, or individual affiliated groups. Under excessive urbanized communal living, society and individuals face immense pressure. Beyond living space and environmental conditions, the current societal wealth disparity makes it even more unimaginable. Unless we construct an ant-like social organization structure, but on a single brick, is "One World, One Dream" possible? This is not utopia, because Hong Kong's own development has already surpassed utopia.

From an artistic perspective, it evokes something biological and material, physical and physiological, social and human, structural and organizational, pointing directly to the core of political urbanology. Though small, this work possesses a macroscopic vision of urban spatial conditions and human existence. It is a striking work, revealing Mei Ping's creative courage and depth in addressing issues. Friends who like contemporary art can visit Leung Mei Ping's website to see more extraordinary works—http://www.mpleung.com/