Recently exhibited at Firenze Lai’s first solo exhibition in Europe, Firenze Lai: White Balance at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of St-Étienne, The Colleagues exemplifies Firenze Lai’s disarmingly simple visual lexicon that quietly speaks volumes. The estranged contorted figures embrace within a confined space, alluding to the physical and psychological adjustments made in everyday life situations amidst constricting urban environments. With undertones of dislocation, angst and pathos, the unique powerful worlds that Lai conjures compel universal resonance in spite of, and precisely because of, her figures’ anonymity. In the artist’s own words: “I make figurative work, not portraits. This kind of figurative work is universal” (the artist cited in “Firenze Lai in conversation with Hera Chan”, Ocula, 23 March 2019, online). Elsewhere, she declares: “Each figure that I paint is the same person. It is you and I. A universal character taken at different moments” (the artist cited in Judith Benhamou-Huet, “An exclusive visit to meet one of Hong Kong’s young high profile artists: Firenze Lai”, online).

Born in Hong Kong in 1984, Lai graduated from Hong Kong Art School and worked as a book designer before becoming a full-time artist in 2011. While working as a book designer, Lai painted and drew at night at a tiny desk, which limited the size of her works. The role of space is key within Lai’s practice, which often featured figures contorted against backdrops or compressed within enclosed spaces. Stripping her subjects of all individuality, Lai’s paintings foreground the relationship and hidden dynamics between the psyche, the body, and their surrounding environs. In doing so, she powerfully evokes the shared dispositions of humanity, including tensions between individuals, between the individual and self, and between the individual and societal conventions.

The intensity of such collective pathos is quietly yet vividly potent within each work. Lai has said: “My spatial awareness is very narrow. It extends to about 200 feet. But inside that space, feeling is very strong. For example, when I speak to you now, the surface of this yellow table gives a strong feeling” (the artist cited in “Firenze Lai in conversation with Hera Chan”, Ocula, 23 March 2019, online). With gestural brushwork to compliment her mastery over spatial strategies, Lai’s compositions capture forgotten slices of humanity that illuminate the poignancy of our times. The artist has exhibited in international solo and group shows, including Turbulence at Mirrored Gardens in Guangzhou (2015), the 10th Shanghai Biennale, Social Factory (2015), the 2015 New Museum Triennial, Surround Audience (2015), and in Venice for the 57th Venice Biennale (2017). More recently, Lai’s works were exhibited in Contemporary's Contagious Cities: Far Away, Too Close at Tai Kwun in Hong Kong (2019).

《共事的人》最近曾於法國聖埃蒂安現當代藝術博物館舉辦的黎清妍首場歐洲個展「Firenze Lai: White Balance」上展出，作品中極簡的視覺語彙靜謐卻又振聾發聵。畫中人本應關係疏離，卻在狹窄的空間裡相擁，糾結成一團不合常理的肢體，隱喻人類在令人窒息的日常都市環境中所作出的生理和心理調適。她的作品往往刻畫了神秘莫測的人類心境，透過觸動人心的情感敘事，為觀者帶來愉悅迷人的視覺享受，同時流露出錯位、焦慮與悲傷的色彩。儘管黎清妍的筆下人物無名無姓，她那獨一無二、充滿力量的世界卻能夠喚起普世共鳴。正如藝術家本人所述：「我創作的是具象作品，並非肖像。這種具像的藝術是普世的」（引自藝術家，〈黎清妍與陳思穎 之對談〉，《Ocula 》，2019年3月23日，網上）。她亦曾經表示：「我筆下的人物都是同一個人——是你和我，一個身處於不同處境的普世人物」（引自藝術家，居蒂絲・本哈默於埃撰，〈與一位香港知名年輕藝術家：黎清妍的獨家訪談〉，網上）。

黎清妍在1984年生於香港，畢業於香港藝術學院。2011年，她開始成為全職藝術家，此前是一位書籍設計師。那時候，她在入夜後於小桌子上畫素描及繪畫，因此作品尺寸有限。空間對於她的創作來說十分關鍵，她的作品往往以封閉的空間為背景，裡面的人物扭曲變形。黎清妍消除了畫中人物的個體差異，凸顯出人類心靈、身體與周遭環境的關係，以及當中隱藏的互動力量。透過採用這種手法，黎清妍強而有力地呈現出人類的共同處境，包括人與人之間、個人與自我之間、以及個人與社會傳統之間的矛盾。

這種舉世皆然的悲傷情感，在每幅作品中靜靜流露，逼真而濃烈。黎清妍曾述：「我的空間意識十分狹窄，大約只有200英尺的距離。可是，在這個空間中，我的感受是十分強烈的。例如，我跟你說話時，這個黃色的桌面便令我深有感受」（引自藝術家，〈黎清妍與陳思穎之對談〉，《Ocula》，2019年3月23日，網上）。本作筆觸遒勁，體現了黎清妍對空間建構的精湛拿捏；畫面則成功捕捉久被遺忘的人性面貌，訴說出當今世代的淒美情感。黎清妍曾參與多個海外個人展覽及群展，包括廣州鏡花園的「湍流」個人展、「社會工廠——第十屆上海雙年展」（2015年）、「2015新當代藝術博物館三年展：包圍觀眾」（2015年），以及在威尼斯舉辦的第五十七屆威尼斯雙年展（2017年）。最近，黎清妍的作品曾於香港大館「疫症都市：既遠亦近」展出（2019年）。