The Works：Dominique Chan in Kat O, Jules de Balincourt @Pace Gallery & in the studio: "Lauzone" by A

For more than 300 years, Kat O was home to several thousand Hakka and Tanka villagers, a thriving fishing and farming island. Today though, due to its remoteness and because many have moved to urban areas, the island is home to just around fifty residents. Among them is artist Dominique Chan.

Jules de Balincourt uses strong colours to blur the lines between abstraction and figurative imagery. Although people often suggest his paintings are either utopian or dystopian, de Balincourt says he is more interested in the “power of painting to act as a crossroads of ideological perspectives to allow the mind to go in different directions.” On show at Pace Gallery, “Birds on a Boat” showcases twelve recent paintings that incorporate natural elements such as wind, plants, and rain, and that reflect on the relationship between humanity and the natural world.

Other than Cantonese, Putonghua and English, many residents of Hong Kong, particularly the older generation or villagers, still express themselves in a range of Chinese dialects. These include the Hakka, Hokkien, Taishanese, Shanghainese, and Chiu Chow dialects. This diversity of dialects and their connections with the geographical origins of families are what inspired singers Anna Lo and Rick Lau to create a cabaret called “Lauzone”.