Everyday over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting the shortlisted artists for The 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize – the 18th edition of Asia’s most prestigious prize for contemporary artists. Selected from over 400 entries, the finalists hail from 16 countries and regions across Asia-Pacific. Of the artists, 27 are new to The Prize – appearing in our shortlist for the first time. Read on to discover more about our finalists, their key points of inspiration, and why it is important to champion the work of artists from Asia-Pacific.  

Chan Wai Lap (Hong Kong) was shortlisted for his work Pure Speculation – Tin Ka Ping, which forms part of a body of work portraying public swimming pools. Often created through his own experiences, Chan will count the tiles and reconstruct them on paper.

What initially drew you to swimming pools as a subject matter?

A few years ago, I felt a bit stuck in my creative process. I decided to distract myself by leaving the studio and doing something not directly related to art. So I went swimming—at least I accomplished something in the day, right? As I grew into the habit of swimming daily, I became more and more curious about the space of the swimming pool itself.

It is like a public gathering space. I go almost as an escape from reality. Why are the others here? Do they have different agendas? Swimming pools have become a lens for me to observe and understand social dynamics. When I traveled or during my residencies in Europe and the U.S., I would also explore the swimming pools there. It provided me with an open yet intimate access to the local cultural context and urban psyche.

How do you go about counting the meticulous grids that appear throughout your body of work?

The space of swimming pools gave me new inspirations, and I started to consider ways to translate it into artworks. The most straightforward method would be to document the swimming pools by counting the mosaic surfaces tile by tile. After noting down the number of grids in the swimming pool, I returned to the studio and reconstructed the space on paper with colored pencils.

In my opinion, swimming is a sport of repetitive muscle movements, and my mode of drawing in the studio—repeatedly and laboriously filling colors in the grid—resonates with it. When drawing, my body is static, but my mind can be free and active. Like swimming, drawing is almost like a ritual, a chance for meditation and self-reflection.

What significance does your medium have to the meaning of your work?

I have used many different media in my art practice. The choice was always based on the concept and message, ranging from pencil, acrylic, silkscreen printing, to kinetic sculptures, found objects, installations, and performance. In the swimming pool drawing series, I chose the medium of colored pencil because it creates fine strokes that suit the tiny grids in my work.

The strokes would get thicker as it goes. And as I sharpen the pencil, it would become shorter and shorter. This process gives me a sense of time. The pencil consumes its own life and transforms into my work on paper.

How important is it to support the work of artists in Asia-Pacific?

Very important. We live in a multicultural and multipolar world, and voices from every corner deserve to be heard. Art is an effective means to foster cross-regional dialogues and mutual understanding in the diverse cultural landscape. It is known that artists in the Asia-Pacific region are still under-represented on significant international stages.

But I am happy to see more and more artists and curators from the Asia-Pacific region in the global spotlight like the much anticipated Documenta fifteen. Let’s all make an effort and do even better.

To vote for Chan’s work, click here. The most popular finalist will receive the Public Vote Prize and USD1000.

To register interest in purchasing Chan’s artwork, click here. Artwork sales will be launched in person and online during Art Central, from 26 – 29 May 2022. Proceeds will be spilt equally between the artist and our charitable programmes.

Want to learn about our other finalists? Tune in tomorrow for our next interview. To read previous artists’ interviews, click here.