Heidi Salzwedel interviews Ma Wai Ting Suison, who lives and works in Hong Kong.

Heidi Salzwedel: Tell us a bit more about yourself, Suison. 

Suison Ma: I was born in the mid-90s in Shenzhen (mainland China), yet raised in Hong Kong, and I graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, in 2017. I am a multidisciplinary artist and designer who is freelancing and doing mostly commission-based work for companies. I create work which breaks away from traditional rules in aesthetics and focuses on conveying a deeper level of meaning. I follow my intuition in the creative process and my work is usually based on my imagination. 

HS: What themes and types of media do you typically use when creating your work? 

Suison Ma: I often create mixed-media works (usually a mixture of hand and digital drawing), and I explore the possibilities of different creative media and styles. Digital media is convenient to edit, especially if you are working on a commission. It’s pricey to have your own studio in Hong Kong so being able to work from home and keep my work on the computer is good; it only requires a small space, unlike large canvases. I can combine traditional media with digital media; like a collaboration between the old and new. I love the textures that using traditional media provides; freehand sketching with traditional media shows human emotion and seems to preserve the innocence and courage of childhood. Pencils, both black and coloured, probably were the first and simplest art materials I used in my childhood. Their texture gives me a relaxed feeling that I would like to keep in my artistic practice. I often use the daily moments of life as the theme; I want to share the sense of humour in life, and bring people happiness and warmth.

HS: What has been the path, artistically and in terms of your faith, that has led you to where you are today in your creative journey? 

Suison Ma: In the past I tended to think of visual art as a worldly thing because of what I saw in the world around me. The Bible verse 1 John 2:16 explains the feeling that I used to have well: “For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.” The main problem in visual art is not the media, it’s the attitude or intention behind it.  But I’ve got a new perspective towards it now after I had experiences in knowing that God also uses art to speak in the Bible. God himself is creative, beautiful and good and that’s the main reason why I want to create. 

HS: Tell us a bit more about your educational background?  

Suison Ma: I studied exhibition design at the Hong Kong Design Institute first and this gave me experience in working digitally and using creative software programmes. I then moved on to study visual art at the Academy of Visual Art, Hong Kong Baptist University. It is there where I learnt how to conceptualize my art process and refine my drawing skills and later on, once I had graduated, I experimented a lot and managed to put my drawing skills and the digital art medium together.  

HS: In what way does your culture inform your art making, both stylistically as well as socially?