Pak Sheung Chuen

Nightmare-Wallpaper (No.DCCC901-16#8): An-Angel-in-Conversation-with-a-Young-Lady

The series Nightmare Wallpapers represents a shift in Pak Sheung-Chuen’s practice, allowing the artist to immerse himself in an “artistic pilgrimage of self healing” following the failure of the 2014 Umbrella Movement. These drawings were created during the trial of political activists pursued by the government that the artist would regularly attend. During the tribunal, the artist would let his pen slide freely across his notebook, replicating the automatic drawing techniques of the surrealists. He then scans these random traces, blowing them up on the computer, multiplying each fragment, giving way to decorative abstract motifs reminiscent of wallpaper. Through this process Chuen analyzes the details of these unconscious productions, allowing him to begin a psychological healing process, leading him to reconnect with his environment. Furthermore, these drawings, born from the public gallery of a courtroom, speak of the relationship between the State and the individual. Following their creation, works from this series, Street, Court and Prison, entered into the public domain, accompanying newspaper articles, and entering the sphere of collective memory.