Danny Yung
Tian Tian Xiang Shang Conceptual Comics
Danny Yung
An experimental art pioneer, Danny Yung is a founding member cum Co-Artistic Director of Zuni Icosahedron. Yung is widely regarded as most influential artist in Hong Kong and the neighbouring regions, and an advocate in experimental arts and new art forms.
In 2014, Yung is the laureate of the 2014 Fukuoka Prize – Arts and Cultural Prize. In 2009, Yung was conferred the Merit Cross of the Order of Merit on Ribbon by the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of his contribution to the arts and cultural exchange between Germany and Hong Kong. In 2008, with Tears of Barren Hill he was honoured the Music Theatre NOW Award by UNESCO's International Theatre Institute.
Beginning in 1997, Yung has initiated several important cultural and arts networks. Among them are the Asia Arts Net, Asia Performing Arts Network, and World Culture Forum. The City-to-City Cultural Exchange Conference initiated by Yung has been held for more than 20 consecutive years, and is the premier and the only exchange program conducted among Chinese speaking regions and on a city-to-city basis.
In the past 40 years, he has been actively engaged in various fields of the arts, including theatre, film and video, comics, as well as visual and installation art. Yung has contributed significantly to the provision of a platform for both acclaimed and emerging artists to explore and carry out cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration. As director, scriptwriter, producer and stage designer, Yung has created over 100 theatrical productions, which have widely toured to over 30 cities in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Yung is the creator of cross-disciplined and cross-region Tian Tian Xiang Shang conceptual comics. TTXS has become an iconic figure in creative industry and education sector. It's exhibition and educational program have reached out to Europe, America and Asia. On- and off-stage, Yung is an enthusiastic protagonist for innovation in cultural policy, cultural exchange, institutional development and creative education.
Tian Tian Xiang Shang Concept
About Tian Tian Xiang Shang
The Chinese phrase 天天向上“Tian Tiang Xiang Shang” means making progress every day. In the 1950s, when the Danny Yung was a primary school student, he would scribble little boy caricatures on his textbooks and all around his place when he felt bored and lonely. Throughout the years the scribbling gradually evolved into a series of conceptual comics, and the caricature has taken a minimalistic form of looking up with a finger pointing up. In the 70s, he returned to China. He was surprised to find the phrase “Tian Tian Xiang Shang” written on the wall of every primary school, in bold and outrageous form. He was so intrigued by the expression, ironic, at the same time intellectually stimulating, that he borrowed it as the title for his carton drawings. And the boy character naturally took the name Tian Tian.
Comics as a Vehicle of Thought
Comics are often seen as a product of popular culture as well as being a concept of storytelling for the new generation. In his Tian Tian Xiang Shang comic series, Danny Yung questions and redefines the narrative form of comics and in doing so, makes you rethink your own perspectives on direction, position, space, narrative framework and communication structure.
The TTXS Creative Collaboration Programme
The TTXS Creative Collaboration Programme will focus specifically on bringing about social changes; and unifying arts, design and culture through tri-sector partnerships that will provide rigorous content – for instance, proposing relevant skills, models, and tools to develop sustainable solutions. Tri-sector collaboration provides rigorous interdisciplinary dialogues that delve deeply into strategic thinking on partnerships that connect government, business, and creative practitioners.
Professionals and stakeholders from all sectors are increasingly aware of the importance of multi-sector partnerships. Singapore and Seoul government officials, for example, are more often saying they need to work with other sectors. It is vital to ensure that leaders in the public and private sectors are able to engage closely with one another. This programme aptly provides the basis for this to occur even more effectively in future.
In each edition of the TTXS roving exhibition, we invited local artists, designers and city mayors or cultural ministers of our close network to participate. Our objective is to brand Hong Kong’s creative industry through the cross-cultural dialogue and the international network initiated and built by TTXS, Zuni and HKICC.
Education
In 1987, Zuni established the Art Education Unit for the purpose of promoting the development of local art education and organising different types of visual and performing arts education programmes. Over the part 30 years, Zuni organised various programmes to promote the understanding and participation of art in the community and school. Important programmes includes Creative Playground, Liberal Studies & Arts-in-Education Programme, National Arts Education Programme, Black Box Exercise – Installation Art Education Programme, etc.
Black Box Exercise
Playground: Danny Yung Experimental Theatre
About Zuni Icosahedron
ZUNI is a colour between blue and green. In Western New Mexico, Zuni is the name of a tribe of North American Indians who is famous for creative handicrafts. ICOSAHEDRON is a solid figure having twenty faces bearing a strong contagious character.
Founded in 1982, is a Hong Kong based international experimental theatre company and a non-profit charitable cultural organization. Zuni is one of the nine major professional performing arts companies in Hong Kong, and has made venue partner with the Hong Kong Cultural Centre since 2009.
As a premier experimental theatre company, Zuni has produced more than 200 original productions of alternative theatre and multimedia performances, and been invited to more than 80 cities around the globe for cultural exchange and performances.
With the support of our members, and under the leadership of Co-Artistic Directors, Danny Yung and Mathias Woo, Zuni has been active in video, sound experimentation and installation arts, as well as in the area of arts education, arts criticism, cultural policy research and international cultural exchange. Recently, Zuni has also been undertaking the mission of preserving and developing Intangible Cultural Heritage (Performing Arts).
With “Reinterpret Classics”, “Reinvent Tradition”, “Recreate Theatre and Media Technology” and “Reconnect Theatre with Social Movement” as our major artistic directions, Zuni has been most inspiring in developing the aesthetics of theatre in Chinese society, with its experimental and subversive nature.