Jumbo is an allusion to the sinking of Hong Kong’s treasured eponymous floating restaurant. While Sophie Cheung was in London for a short time, events at home in Hong Kong...
Jumbo is an allusion to the sinking of Hong Kong’s treasured eponymous floating restaurant. While Sophie Cheung was in London for a short time, events at home in Hong Kong happened in quick succession. The destiny of Jumbo caused the artist to reflect on this cultural landmark’s links to the city as a whole. She wonders what the emotional legacy will be in the hearts of Hong Kongers, and its physical destiny amidst the marine life that thrives around it. Her mind is drawn to the restaurant’s facade, the ornate reliefs of dragons and phoenixes. They reminded her of the Forbidden City, prompting a colour scheme which is reminiscent of both places. In keeping with a structure which lives on only in memory, there were no sketches involved when creating Jumbo, only memory. Perhaps the departure of Jumbo is an act of liberation, and the dragons and phoenixes are now free. She sourced the distinctive crimson shades from the Sing Tao newspapers in editions from late June to early July. Though Jumbo is abstract, dragons, phoenixes, seaweeds and boulders float to the surface, as if the viewer is looking through water. Sophie highlights the influence of Chinese ink techniques, in leaving blank space, and a more western design technique of the reversal of positive and negative space.