Born in Hong Kong in 1961, Leung's work is drawn by creativity originating from everyday life and proceeds from experimental interaction and multi-disciplinary integration. Her practice includes mix-media installations, site-specifics, public art, community art and event-based projects; it is concerned with the ethics and memories of human life and is closely intertwined with theories and research on visual culture and globalization. Leung received her BFA from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, her MFA from California Institute of the Arts, LA, U.S.A and Ph.D at Chinese University of Hong Kong (Religious & Cultural Studies Department).

 

For Haein Art project, as an interpretation of the ordination of Buddhist monks, the artist collected shaved hair and knitted them into 2000 baby-sized shoes. Shaving symbolizes the spiritual path to anatta, getting rid of the physical body. Hair symbolizes physical strength and virility, as the virtues and properties of a person are said to be concentrated in his hair. It also carries with it the notion of power and the act of having one's hair stripped is the letting go or sacrifice of this power. One's hair is also thought of to represent one's external soul. By collecting hair and transforming it into child size shoe forms, the artist suggests a return to innocence and a freeing of one's self.