CHINO LAM 林輝 | SUMERIAN 蘇美爾人

JPS Gallery, Hong Kong

Acquired from the above by the present owner

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香港，JPS 畫廊

現藏者購自上述來源

Hong Kong designer Chino Lam is one of the founders of the brand Mame Moyoshi hacho. He once worked for the renowned Japanese toy brand Bandai. In 2017 and 2018, he was awarded the "Oscar" in the toy industry, American Toy Award "Designer Toy Awards ". Driven by his passion for sashimi and aquatic creatures, he created a series of original characters featuring sea animals with human attributes. When rendered with traditional mediums such as calligraphy and Ukiyo-e, these cute and monstrous creatures evoke a sense of mismatched aesthetic, emanating a distinct aura that reminisces with street culture spiced up with dark humor. Chino's unique graphic style and fascinating imagination resonates with and captures the hearts of many and the popularity of his works in Asia rocketed within a short time frame.

The present work acts as a testimony of Chino's aquatic obsession. The center of the composition presents a creature with a raised finger as if to preach. Its forehead reads OANNES, a God described being half-fish half-human in Mesopotamian mythology. According to historical legends, it is he who came from the "Kingdom of the Sea" and passed his knowledge, wisdom, and skills to the Babylonians who inherited the ancient Sumerian culture. Surrounding this mythological god, Chino further illustrated the evolution of human civilization, as well as referencing The Classic of Mountains and Seas, a Chinese classic text and compilation of mythic geography and beasts as a juxtaposition to the Western legend to express his profound belief in the connection between human beings and creatures from the deep-sea.

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香港設計師Chino Lam（林輝） 是品牌「大豆芽水產」的社長之一，曾經效力名日本玩具廠牌Bandai，於2017及2018年更榮獲被譽為玩具界奧斯卡獎的美國玩具大獎「Designer Toy Awards」。由於Chino尤好魚生和水產生物，靈機一觸，筆下結合魚生與生魚的原創人物由此誕生。萌呆的角色造型混入了街頭文化的風格表達和黑色幽默，在軟膠潮玩以外的傳統媒材，例如書法及浮世繪的塑造下，產生了錯配藝術的強烈視覺，數年內風靡亞洲，虜獲一眾藏家的芳心。

本作則是Chino對生魚鍾愛的創作結晶。畫作中央伸指作教導狀的生物額頂寫有OANNES，即巴比倫神話中魚頭下有人頭、魚尾巴下也有人腳的半人半魚神明。古代史詩文獻中，是此神明從海底「天國」而來，傳授知識及技藝予巴比倫人，亦即蘇美爾文化（Sumerian）的繼承群。而Chino更逗趣地把人類文明進化論繪畫在構圖周遭，以中國先秦古籍《山海經》東方神話誌作烘托，展示深海生物與人類的深遠文化關聯。