An artist’s love of plants helps him cope with anxiety: in his art, butterfly palms and Venus flytraps stand in lieu of people and challenging relationships
- Trevor Yeung uses his work to channel his struggles in connecting with his fellow humans, whether at art industry parties or in his personal relationships
- Some of his work can be seen as part of the group exhibition ‘Anonymous Society for Magick’ at Blindspot Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong
Trevor Yeung’s workspace at Fo Tan in Hong Kong’s New Territories is so lush and green, it looks more like a botany lab than an artist’s studio. Where you would expect to find traces of paint and an assortment of brushes, there is soil and rocks. In lieu of a canvas, there is an abundance of flora and fauna.
“Some artists spend 15 years studying colour. I’ve spent most of my life studying animals and plants; they are my medium,” says the 31-year-old. “Sometimes, I think I’m just a grumpy old artist who likes to stay at home with his pets and plants.”
Yeung describes himself as both shy and socially awkward. His plants, he explains, help him connect better with humans.
“When I learn how to deal with plants, I learn how to deal with people.”
His connection, or lack of it, with others is a common theme that runs through some of his works. Mr butterflies at a waiting corridor (2012), for instance, channels his acute sense of dread and unease when he finds himself among strangers.
