Mak2
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Mak2 | |
|---|---|
| File:Mak2 Portrait.jpg | |
| Born | Mak Ying Tung 1989 Hong Kong |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Education | School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong |
Mak2 (Traditional Chinese: 麥影彤二; Simplified Chinese: 麦影彤二) is a Hong Kong artist, whose practice spans across installations, paintings, drawings, video work, YouTube videos, stand-up comedy routines, and video games.[1] Her works are characterized by social commentary delivered through relatable humor.[2]
Early life and education
Mak2 was born in 1989 in Hong Kong. She received her BA degree from the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.[3]
Originally named Mak Ying Tung, the artist began creating work under the alias of "Mak Ying Tung 2" after a chance encounter with a Feng Shui master on Temple Street in 2017.[4] In 2021, she shortened the name to "Mak2" for ease of recognition,[4] and has since exhibited at various galleries and institutions worldwide.[5]
Notable Works
Home Sweet Home (2019-)
One of Mak2's most widely-exhibited body of works is Home Sweet Home, a series of painted triptychs that were first conceived in 2019 for an exhibition of the same name at DE SARTHE.[6] Intended as conceptual art, the works are not painted by Mak2 but are rather composed by the artist using the life simulation game The Sims, and each crafted by three different painters hired from the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao.[7]
Since its conception, the series has evolved to address varied social and philosophical issues. The most prominent sub-series include Home Sweet Home: Feng Shui Painting (2021),[8] Home Sweet Home: Love Pool (2022),[9] Home From Home (2024-) which includes the added element of AI generation,[10] and Home Sweet Home Backyard (2025-) which includes an original video game by Mak2 as part of the artwork.[11]
Mak's Home Sweet Home series have been exhibited internationally in Shanghai,[12] Berlin,[9] Taipei,[13] Singapore,[14] Seoul,[15] and more.
Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy (2024)
Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy is a 7.5-meter-tall installation artwork by Mak2 exhibited at the 2024 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong.[16] Created for the fair's Encounters sector, the artwork comprises two replica fair booths stacked top-to-top, forming a monumental structure from standardized elements taken from its surroundings.[17] Duplicating her own original artworks presented in the neighboring booth, the installation dissects "the cyclicality of copying in the evolution of creation"[18]and explores the layered stages of simulation folded into reality.[4]
Sweet Home Invasion (2024)
In 2024, Mak2 was selected as one of two artists to present an artwork at Art Basel Miami Beach as part of an activation by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.[19] Her video artwork Sweet Home Invasion "reimagines an alternative version of the fair in which every booth shows only her work"[20]
Hong Kong's Next Top Artist (2023)
Mak2's Hong Kong's Next Top Artist is a video series/mockumentary created during a three-month artist residency program initiated by West Kowloon Cultural District. The program was developed as part of SerendiCity.[21] A limited series of 5 episodes, the web-series follows Mak2 as she invites different parties from the art sector, including artists, curators, professionals, and gallerists to turn an amateur artist into the city's next top artist.[21]
You Better Watch Out (2017)
You Better Watch Out is an interactive installation by Mak2 composed of a giant snow globe circulating colorful balls and printed QR codes that link viewers to themselves captured on CCTV when scanned on their phones.[22] The artwork was included in the exhibition .com/.cn co-presented by MoMA PS1 and K11 Art Foundation.[22]
Recognitions and Awards
2022 - Prestige 40 Under 40[23]
Selected interviews and reviews
| Published Date | Publication/media | Author/Producer | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 27, 2025 | ARTnews | Harrison Jacobs | The Best Booths at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025, From a Gold-Digging Video Game to Extravagant Installations[25] |
| June 29, 2024 | CNBC | Martin Conroy
Scott Oxley |
The Art of Appreciation: Hong Kong (televised series)[26] |
| May 7, 2024 | artnet | Vivienne Chow | Zombies Attach in Artist Mak2's New Art Fair-Themed Video Game[27] |
| May 7, 2024 | Ocula | Sam Gaskin | Art Fairs Can't Escape the Zombie Apocalypse[28] |
| April 18, 2024 | RTHK | Diana Wan | The Works (televised series)[29] |
| March 21, 2024 | ArtAsiaPacific | HG Masters | Mak2: Funnily Enough, Nothing is Original[4] |
| February 27, 2024 | Marie Claire | Cyris Hung | 香港藝術家麥影彤二 Mak2: 奇思幻想的創作魂[30] |
| May 23, 2023 | Spike Art Magazine | Ido Nahari | Mak2 at Peres Projects[31] |
| February 7, 2023 | South China Morning Post | Ashlyn Chak | ‘It started as an inside joke’: Hong Kong artist Mak2 on her new web series that channels Queer Eye to parody the city’s art scene[32] |
| February 27, 2023 | Madame Figaro | Ankie Pang | Mak2 麥影彤二：別用欣賞畫作的角度去看待這些作品｜香港藝術家台北個展《華麗愛火四射》[33] |
| December 1, 2021 | South China Morning Post | Aaina Bhargava | Tarot, astrology, feng shui – why is Hong Kong’s art world going dotty over divination?[34] |
| May 20, 2020 | South China Morning Post | Aaina Bhargava | Feminist YouTuber Mak Ying-tung on challenging Damien Hirst, braving an open mic, and addressing serious issues in her signature ‘fun and crazy’ way[35] |
References
- ^ "MAK2 (MAK YING TUNG 2)". Online Viewing Rooms 線上展廳｜典藏ARTouch.com. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Yiu, Chan Lok (2024-01-26). "* Mak Ying Tung 2, an Artist, a Standup Comedian and More". 1a space. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Giles, Oliver (2023-02-08). "Mak2's Newest Art is Too Hot to Handle". Zolima City Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ a b c d "ArtAsiaPacific: Mak2: Funnily Enough, Nothing is Original". artasiapacific.com. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ "40 under 40: Mak2". www.prestigeonline.com. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Article, Artnet Gallery Network ShareShare This (2019-12-20). "A Hong Kong Artist Commissioned Anonymous Painters to Render Her Sims Interiors on Canvas. The Results Are Unnerving". Artnet News. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ "GAME ART: MAK YING TUNG 2'S HOME SWEET HOME (2019)". GAMESCENES. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Article, Artnet Gallery Network ShareShare This (2021-11-09). "Spotlight: How Rising Hong Kong Artist Mak2 Uses Feng Shui and the Sims to Create Thought-Provoking Paintings". Artnet News. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ a b "8-Bit Intimacies | Spike Art Magazine". Spike. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ "Biting satire: shoot zombie art collectors in artist's video game". South China Morning Post. 2024-05-17. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Jacobs, Harrison (2025-03-28). "The Best Booths at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025, From a Gold-Digging Video Game to Extravagant Installations". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ "Bordercrossing: Possibilities and Interactions". Yuz Museum Shanghai. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ "Mak2 麥影彤二：別用欣賞畫作的角度去看待這些作品｜香港藝術家台北個展《華麗愛火四射》 | Art". Madame Figaro Hong Kong (in Chinese). 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ "Singapore Art Week 2025". Singapore Art Week 2025. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Herald, Korea (2025-02-05). "[Herald Gallery] Home From Home: Cows with Built-In Wi-Fi". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Loeb, Pauline (2024-03-29). "Art Basel Hong Kong 2024". artfairmag. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Silverman, Erica (2024-03-25). "A Revitalized 2024 Edition of Art Basel Hong Kong". Whitewall. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Article, Vivienne Chow ShareShare This (2024-03-26). "Hong Kong Art Week Sees Major Art Industry Players Descend on the City". Artnet News. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ "Hong Kong Tourism Board Captivates Art Basel Miami Beach Attendees with Hong Kong-style Café "Cha Chaan Teng"". Business Wire. December 9, 2024.
- ^ "Experience Hong Kong's cha chaan teng culture at Art Basel Miami Beach". Art Basel. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ a b "SerendiCity: Mak2 – Hong Kong's Next Top Artist (Episode 1) | WestK Video Platform". digital.westk.hk. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ a b "Mak2 Claims Her Future in House of Fortune". ocula.com. 2025-05-29. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ www.prestigeonline.com https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/people/40-under-40/mak2/. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Lee, Shannon (2020-09-11). "The Artsy Vanguard 2020: Mak Ying Tung 2". Artsy. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ Jacobs, Harrison (2025-03-28). "The Best Booths at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025, From a Gold-Digging Video Game to Extravagant Installations". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ "Hong Kong", CNBC: The Art of Appreciation, Allison Cheung, Nicolas Chow, Mak 2, 2024-06-26, retrieved 2025-05-30
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Article, Vivienne Chow ShareShare This (2024-05-07). "Zombies Attack in Artist Mak2's New Art Fair-Themed Video Game". Artnet News. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ "Art Fairs Can't Escape the Zombie Apocalypse". ocula.com. 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ "香港電台電視 The Works". www.rthk.hk (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ Hung, Cyris (February 27, 2024). "香港藝術家麥影彤二Mak2: 奇思妙想的創作魂". Marie Claire.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "8-Bit Intimacies | Spike Art Magazine". Spike. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ "'It started as a joke': Hong Kong artist's Queer Eye-based art scene parody". South China Morning Post. 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ "Mak2 麥影彤二：別用欣賞畫作的角度去看待這些作品｜香港藝術家台北個展《華麗愛火四射》 | Art". Madame Figaro Hong Kong (in Chinese). 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ "Why have Hong Kong artists become fans of feng shui and star signs?". South China Morning Post. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ "Artist and would-be comedian on her 'fun and crazy' video art". South China Morning Post. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2025-05-30.