Background, social & historical and cultural context of the artist and the art work

Man Ching Ying, Phoebe is my favorite Multi-media artisit who inspires me a lot and her art work especially the Sanitary Napkin Series really rocks my art world. 

She graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1991, major in Fine Art and received her MFA degree from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2000. Her works are mostly self-exploration, challenging ideologies and institutions. She was known by her food series installation in 1996. Installation of Sanitary napkin flowers and video work “Rati” brought her several awards and many opportunities to show her works in local and overseas art events. Recently, she started her map series to rethink the power relationship of space and explore the linkage between the art works and the audience. She is the core member of Para/Site Art Space and currently she is the Instructor at the School of Creative Media of the City University of Hong Kong.

Her detailed information is on http://www.cyman.net.

Therefore, I am of particular interest to choose her outstanding Sanitary Napkin Series to explore this time.

Phoebe Man’s Sanitary Napkin Series

Beautiful Flowers












sanitary napkins, red egg shell, a chair and a red light bulb


















1998-2000 New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Canberra



A Present For Her Growth 1

sanitary napkins, red egg shell, and a sparkling red egg bulb
3 x 3 x 0.6m
1996

Form/medium/genre of the artwork

Her art work is in the form of mixed media.

Superficially, her working media include found objects such as Sanitary napkin, red egg shell, chair, red light bulbs and so on. 

 

Indeed, for me, the most valuable underlying media in her art work is artist, that is Phoebe Man herself, rather than physical materials. How Phoebe living with this identity in Hong Kong society is the core of the contemporary art of her work.

That is, what is the relationship of people, societies, cultures and current era with the artist. Artists no more, only devote to the transcendence of craftsmanship and art pieces, but perceive their lives as their art pieces. We should put our eyes on the existence value of artists rather than their art pieces.

Do I like Sanitary Napkin Series, why?

Concerning the experience of the art work, 

for me, this is interesting meanwhile meaningful, playful but beautiful art work.

I like it very much because…

It can be read as an essentialist feminist work and at the same time a play on feminism. While feminine hygiene products have been used by other Chinese artists as a shock tactic and to present the naturalness of bodily functions, here Phoebe Man’s work is beautifully and nicely presented, the shock is subdued by actually painting blood stains and then pleasantly arranging the pads into decorative and quaint floral patterns. The flowered chair becomes a personification of the presence of women in Hong Kong society and its art world. I feel liked being embraced by the soft and warm world. This artpiece is in big contrast to the Hong Kong and Confucianist notion of male superiority. By insisting that the viewer participate in the actual space, Phoebe, the artist makes her presence felt.

How do I interpret it?

We were being dyed by the RED color (menstruation) like those Sanitary napkin flowers, the older we get, the more flowers we are in. those red flowers with eggs, which mean presents brought by the growth of female, from girls to women , are painted to remind us of growth.

Do I like her art work? Why?

I love her art work because…

Life seems to looking for something, everytime when I realize an answer, at the same time it also brings more questions, but eventually I can understand life itself is looking for it’s self.

Phoebe Man makes art to feel her existence. Maybe this will answer the question of who is she. Meanwhile, asking the viewer like me, who am I.

Her 3-dimension work and installation at the Art exibition is site-specific and audience involved, which can fall in the category of Installation art, ways of how to draw art into life and the use art to express each individual’s view points. Although our society did not care, I believe we still have our own thinking about our own body. It could not be suppressed. Everyone is free to express their opinions. Her work, like the growth of women from girls, develops from the basic elements, but strongly and effectively show her desire and affection about female that touches my inner heart a lot, for us to memorize or even worship the things we get since our growth, no matter they are the physical or spiritual, everything…

I especially LOVE the RED.

(actually painting blood stains, meaning menstruation)

Red and me

Red is close to me

Severe, painful and heavy red

I love I hate red

Red about her (Phoebe Man), about me (Phoebe Chan), and about every female in the world.

Photos’ Source:
http://www.cyman.net/

Reference List:
~李錦萍:“香港藝壇新時代＂。《聯合報》，1994 年 2 月 16 日。

~陳耀成：“送給永遠等待窩的港人的禮物＂，《東周刊》。1996

年 11 月 7 日。

~石瑞仁：“文晶瑩：她們成長的禮物 – 裝置藝術＂1997 年 1

月。

~俞若玫：“晶瑩和寶山＂。《明報》副刊。1997 年 12 月 15 日。

~香港《信報》。1997 年 11 月 28 日文化版。

~香港《信報》。1997 年 12 月 16 日文化版。

~“The Pains and Pleasures of Rebirth: European and American

Women’s Body Art” New York:  Art in America, 64, No.3

(May-June 1976).