Fountain of life

Homage to Hong Kong quirks

Some of the most familiar elements of Hong Kong popular culture are presented in an atypical fashion in Courtyard. Feng shui objects like rotating ball fountains appear with their motors exposed. The transparent plastic bags used to bring home goldfish from retail shops are shown as perforated and dripping water. Mushroom-shaped plastic lights pop up randomly, sometimes in obscure corners that are easy to miss.

Yeung hastens to assert that the references to Hong Kong culture in his works are not intended to be satirical. "They are a part of my life and reflect who I am as a person. All those things, including the aquariums and the crystals in the rotating ball fountains, are a part of the Hong Kong milieu I grew up in."

According to Chun of Blindspot Gallery, the mushroom lights, which are a staple of Yeung's works, "serve as a metaphor for those who live outside the system, and not necessarily within it" - a bit like the artist himself, who hasn't shown any inclination to jump onto the art-tech bandwagon, as most of his Hong Kong peers are doing.

"My focus is on emotions, on making connections, and also the nature surrounding us. New technology is definitely not what I'm focusing on," Yeung says. "Rather than new technologies, I'm more interested in where it all started."