Melissa Ngein Wen Wen

Masks from past, present and maybe future, 2013

105.cmx 75cm

Pencil, watercolor, acrylic on watercolour paper

Strangers, 2013

 180cm x 90cm x 90cm

Installation, pencils, watercolor, acrylic on compress foam

“Skin of the city” can mean culture, lifestyle or an environment.  As for me, it basically means its people. People from different country was brought up differently, hence they will definitely have different mindsets, behaviours and actions. Japan has a beautiful traditional culture despite being a fast moving pace country. The people there are ‘organised’ and modern but they still kept their roots of being polite and respectful not only to their elders but to the people around them too. This is a very huge contrast to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a high density living country whereby people are accustomed to living in crowds and an overpopulated environment. Their vibrant lifestyle and loud voices are most probably influenced by their environment. Therefore, the reason behind my work is the people living in the different countries. People are what make the country have it’s culture and definitely the things that give the country it’s life, it’s skin.