The Young Ones 下一代

The Young Ones
2001-03 / Total: 37 pieces/ Exhibition: City Life II – Hong Kong & Beyond, Hong Kong Central Library and Shatin Town Hall, 2000-03 / Catalogue: City Life II – Hong Kong & Beyond, 2003

This is a series of paintings of children, some in Hong Kong but mostly in other Asian countries, including Myanmar, Mongolia, Cambodia and Indonesia. The painting project started in early 2001 but ended in early 2003 with the SARS outbreak.

下一代（孩童系列）

2001-03 / 作品: 37 張 / 展覽: 城市生活 II – 香港内外,香港中央圖書舘及沙田大會堂, 2000-03 / 目錄: 《城市生活 II – 香港内外》, 2003

這個系列的繪寫對象是孩童，畫一些亞洲國家的兒童較多，畫香港的較少。繪寫的國家和地區包括緬甸、蒙古、柬埔寨、印尼。系列開始動工的時間是2001年，至2003年初因沙士疫症而中斷。

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[City Life II: Hong Kong & Beyond – An exhibition of Hark Yeung’s photographs and Fong So’s paintings was originally planned, before the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak, for the Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt, Germany, but cancelled after failing to raise the necessary sponsorship. The exhibition was eventually launched in Hong Kong in 2003 to help the city move beyond its traumatic SARS experience.]

[城市生活II：香港內外 – 在2003年的沙士(曾一度被稱為非典型肺炎)疫症爆發之前，德國法蘭克福一個博物館曾計劃展出黑楊的攝影和方蘇的繪畫，其後因未能得到贊助而取消。這個籌劃中的展覽終於改在香港展出，希望能有助這個城市從疫症中復元過來。]

“For this exhibition, Fong So has turned his humane attention to the world of children – and the children of the Asian world: Myanmar, Mongolia, Cambodia, Indonesia, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. This enlarged canvas also brings us to a larger world of poverty and suffering…”
— Leo  Ou-fan Lee (Professor of Chinese Literature, Harvard University and Y.K. Pao Distinguished Visiting Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), A Feeling of Roots, exhibition catalogue, 2003)

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Cover image
My Childhood (Guangzhou, China) 我的童年 (廣州)
2001, ink and colour on paper 水墨設色紙本, 159 x 95 cm
I was born in the early 1950s. According to the older members of my family, both my elder and younger brothers were much cheerful than I was when we were young. – FS
我是廿世紀五十後的一代。據家中較年長的人所説，三兄弟之中，我哥哥和弟弟小時候都比我更討人歡喜。– FS

Project gallery 
1. The Scrap Colletors (Mandalay, Myanmar) 拾荒 (緬甸 曼德勒)
2001, ink and colour on paper 水墨設色紙本, 138 x 83 cm
Visiting Myanmar in 2001, the artist found this a very common street scene in the two largest cities – Yangoon and Mandalay.
2001 年緬甸之行，在兩大城市仰光和曼德勒，街上常見這些孩童。

2. High Summer (Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia) 盛夏 (蒙古 烏蘭巴托)
2001, ink and colour on paper 水墨設色紙本, 124.5 x 204.5 cm
Homeless children living in a shelter operated by a foreign agency.
一個外國機構營運的設施，收留了這些無家可歸的孩童。

3. A Modest Expectation (Yangon, Myanmar) 所求不多 (緬甸 仰光)
2001, ink and colour on paper 水墨設色紙本, 76 x 54 cm
What did they want? Just the empty plastic bottles left in the bus by the passengers after a long ride.
他們想要些什麽？只不過是長途巴士乘客用剩的塑膠水瓶。

4. The Bowl and the Rob (Mandalay, Myanmar) 衣缽 (緬甸 曼德勒)
2001, ink and colour on paper 水墨設色紙本, 154 x 83 cm
Another common street scene in Myanmar: monks begging for alms.
緬甸另一個常見的街景 – 僧人到處化緣。

5. Water (Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia) 水 (蒙古 烏蘭巴托)
2001, ink and colour on paper 水墨設色紙本, 154 x 83 cm
About half of the households in Ulaan Baatar did not have tap water [in 2001].
烏蘭巴托大約半數民居在2001年仍未有自來水。

6. The Meal (Jakarta, Indonesia) 吃 (印度尼西亞 雅加達)
2002, ink and colour on paper 水墨設色紙本, 124.5 x 123 cm
Homeless boys housed by a centre for “marginalised” children.
一個支援中心收容的「邊沿」兒童。