The mid-February winds feel cooler in the New Territories neighborhood of Fo Tan. The streets are wider and more barren than in Hong Kong’s central districts, and it’s evident why so many artists have established their studios here over the years. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, which boasts the city’s first postgraduate fine arts program from which IV Chan received her MFA in 2020 (and where she now lectures part-time), is a single MTR stop away on the East Rail Line. With ample utilitarian spaces offering high ceilings, natural light, and affordable square-footage, the relatively quiet, industrial-turned-residential neighborhood provides the Hong Kong artist with just enough room to construct her enormous soft sculptures. 

Inside, there is hardly a blank surface in sight: books, sketches, construction tools, plastic toys, street signs, craft-making supplies, a fully stocked bar, and countless tchotchkes have transformed an otherwise spacious studio into a kind of colorful, maximalist cave, aesthetically paralleling Chan’s playful artworks. Some of her sculptures are suspended from the ceiling, others line the floor; many appear either half-dismantled or partially assembled. “I reuse a lot of my materials,” the artist says with a shrug.