Reveal of Cracks

Much of the work by Hong Kong artist Chan Po-fung is presented under Playback Concept, a brand that Chan established to practice and market the sustainable integration of different kinds of jade and metal craftsmanship in the creation of jewelry and small sculpture, conceptual art and installation works. In 2013, he won the Good Design of The Year Award at the Chinese Design Awards for I would still find you.See: Playbackconcept.com and about the award see the website of HKBU

In Reveal of Cracks of 2019, Chan Po-fung uses a cage-like silver casing to fixate and reunite three fragments of a broken jade bangle. It has movable hinges and almost looks like a scaffold built around a fragile core. Instead of hiding or covering up the cracks in the jade, the metal device highlights and proudly displays the bangle’s brokenness. The frame has the shape of an octagon, which in Chinese art evokes associations with the Book of Changes and a symbol called bagua, which consists of eight shapes commonly known as “trigrams” that symbolize the fundamental principles of Daoist cosmology.See Seaceramic. Octagonal shapes are used in Chinese traditional architecture for entrances, window frames and roof elements. They are not merely aesthetically pleasing, but also materialize a belief in certain spiritual principles and function as auspicious symbols. In Chan’s work, an auspicious octagon frames a jade bangle traditionally believed to have talismanic powers.