PREVIOUS | When Somebody Smiles - TTS (the tiny smile) First Solo Exhibition
“Happiness for me is the presence of all other emotions: life, death, sickness, anxiety, fear…I feel that only by being present and accepting the ups and downs in life can we find happiness.”
Born in Hong Kong and grew up in London, TTS is an artist exploring the emotional depth and contrasts experienced with the arising and ceasing of feelings – “fictionality and trueness”. She believes that Art is a tool to help her engage with herself and the world she is in today.
Having always experienced anxiety in social situations, painting has become a meditative and ritualistic journey to TTS. In her artworks, she harnesses the power of monochrome and duo-colour, scale and repetition which calls for self-analysis and questioning on our own existence.
TTS transforms canvases into contemplative spaces with quiet yet dynamic energy. Drawing inspirations from Chinese monochrome glazed porcelain and embossed pattern techniques, TTS integrates ancient aesthetics with contemporary motifs on canvases with simple yet profound colours.
By repeating the Chinese character 「笑」(Smile) to create an original pattern, or her’ signature upward-downward smiley motif, TTS vividly brings a modern twist to traditional Chinese artistic techniques, guiding viewers to reflect on the importance and significance of the emotion of happiness in life despite its frequent fluctuations.
「對我來說，快樂是所有其他情緒的存在：生、死、病、焦慮、恐懼……我覺得只有活在當下，接受生活中的起伏，我們才能找到快樂。」
香港出生並於倫敦長大，藝術家TTS以藝術作為自己直面情感的媒介，用畫筆如實紀錄所有情緒的生滅過程，以古樸深沉的色彩展現其對情感與虛實的探索。她相信藝術是一種幫助她融入自己和當今世界的工具。在社交場合總是經歷焦慮，繪畫已經成為TTS一次次的冥想和儀式之旅。在作品中，她利用了單色和雙色、比例和重複的力量，從而探討存在的意義與本質。
受中國古代單色釉瓷和凹刻凸雕花紋的技藝所啟發，TTS的畫作揉合古代美學和現代符號。在勻淨的單色畫面上，她以堆疊的技法使畫布表面產生凸起的情緒紋樣，營造出特殊的視覺與觸感效果。通過重複漢字「笑」以及其經典微笑標誌，藝術家的原創微笑圖案喚起了維度廣泛的情感體驗，引導觀眾思考幸福，儘管波動，在生活中的重要性和意義。