The third culture kids shaking up Hong Kong’s art scene

It all started as a joke. After Art Basel Hong Kong was cancelled in 2020, friends Shivang Jhunjhnuwala and Alexander Glavatsky-Yeadon chatted in a WhatsApp group about an event that could take its place: F.art Basil. The gag turned into a brand deck and spoof promotional video, which then began snowballing online. When local media got wind of the concept and potential sponsors began to approach them, the two realised it could be more than a joke.

Though F.art Basil ultimately didn’t go ahead due to rising COVID cases, the idea of creating a new space for art had taken root. The pair set about opening an unbuttoned gallery that promotes unconventional work by Hong Kong artists. 

A phonetic play on the Cantonese slang for “ugly”, Young Soy takes a playful stance within the Hong Kong art scene. “It allows us to hold up a mirror to the art world so it can engage in satirical reflection. It’s a healthy process for anyone – let alone the art world in Hong Kong,” Jhunjhnuwala says. 

The artists on the Young Soy Gallery roster are diverse but share an inclination for challenging the status quo as well as a desire to make art accessible to a wide range of people. Painter Riya Chandiramani pokes fun at the patriarchy with her series of cereal boxes juxtaposing Hindu goddesses with Western branding and mascots. Wong Chun-ho’s ceramic milk cartons depict cows in provocative milking poses. Street artist OBSRVR, known for his social commentary on subjects ranging from shark fin to sex tapes, turned his wall scrawls into acrylic panels, T-shirts and tote bags for Young Soy.

The art world in Hong Kong is centred on prestigious international galleries, auction houses and blue-chip sales, leaving little space for newer, Hong Kong-based artists. Young Soy positions itself as “Hong Kong’s art gallery for the people” – an inclusive place for all that offers a different experience to the stereotypical gallery: “intimidating and cold environments that make it very difficult for people to engage with the artwork on display,” according to the Young Soy’s online manifesto. 

When choosing which artists to represent, the pair look for artists whose work demonstrates their evolution – both of skill and ideology – and who embody a tenacious spirit. They also need to have something compelling to say. 

Both born and raised in Hong Kong, Jhunjhnuwala, whose parents are Indian, and Glavatsky-Yeadon, who has a Russian mother and British father, identify as third culture kids, the term that refers to people who grew up in a culture different to their parents’ or moved to different countries during their childhood. They gravitate towards artists who are also third culture kids and produce art that explores the theme; for example, Sophia Hotung’s illustrated “Hong Konger” magazine covers, inspired by New Yorker covers, which take a sardonic look at life in the city and her experience as a Eurasian. 

 “A lot of the artists that we look for have a burning desire to tell a story unique to them. And that’s worth displaying for whoever is willing to come and engage with it,” Jhunjhnuwala says. “The gallery allows people like us, a growing demographic, to connect with art.” 

Their second venture, Vain Projects , launched this year. With Vain, Jhunjhnuwala and Glavatsky-Yeadon represent and provide a platform for more established artists, whose work is housed on the floor above Young Soy to maintain the latter’s association with young, emerging talent. 

The art may be priced higher, but the playful ethos remains – down to the new space’s name. “What could be more vain than setting up a second gallery?” says Jhunjhnuwala.

Meet the artists
 

Riya Chandiramani 

“I was born and raised in Hong Kong, am Indian, and attended a German school then university in the US. My work is a vibrant cocktail of all my experiences and influences,” says Chandiramani, who references traditional forms of art alongside symbols of pop culture. Social issues are also a key focus: her latest series of cereal boxes explores censorship, sexualisation and gender stereotypes.

Peter Yuill

The process of creating his meticulously layered geometric drawings is akin to spiritual practice for the Canadian-born, Hong Kong-based Yuill: “I try to get into a mental state, the right mindset, then the ideas come through me. So, it’s more like I’m a bridge, or a conduit, to the other side – the ethereal, the other realm – and that’s where the ideas come from.”

Lingmuki

“The inspiration I draw from nature serves as a bridge between my deep cultural heritage and the ever-changing contemporary world I inhabit,” says Ling Lin, aka Lingmuki, who moved to Hong Kong from Nanjing at age 18. These influences are evident in her colourful dreamscape paintings, which investigate the often contradictory relationship between man and the natural world.