We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Pok Kwan Chiu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Pok Kwan below.
Hi Pok Kwan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most comfortable and proud aspect of my art creation is my interaction with people because I feel like art comes down to people, whether it’s making it or appreciating it, so being able to incorporate the element of humans is essential in my art. By that, I’m referring to my skills and way of interacting with people during the photo shoot. I think it’s more important than the subject itself, and every other aspect of it, whether it’s location or the design of the set or the weather and all that because I feel like the ultimate result of photography is an extremely proud and always focused on how the interaction goes. But I’ve realized that so much of the interaction took away what is in me as a photographer, especially working with celebrities and artists who already had a lot of brand and voice. So, I wanted to focus on a subject that isn’t human, allowing me to focus on what’s in myself when I’m viewing the subject. And having it not be a human is also very interesting because I can no longer talk to and interact with them. However, I still have a unique artistic connection in my unique way. I wanted to use that as a challenge. And often, working with celebrities, I’m always in a rush. So this “Frozen in Time” series allows me to be with myself, be with the least minimal amount of crew members, and focus on the art and the process itself. Doing that will enable me to rethink the purpose of photography, the value of photography, and how photography pauses time, especially from the title of the series and from the theme of the series being ice that is very temporal and diminishing. Using photography to stop that moment is really important because that melting experience is an experience that only a minimal crew can experience. But keeping that frame in such a beautiful moment makes me appreciate the process.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Chiu Pok Kwan. People call me Bobby, and I go by the artist name “Only a Bowl.” I’m a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Shanghai with families in Hong Kong but currently based in New York. I just graduated from NYU with a degree in photography. I work closely with all things visual related to music because of my experience growing up playing the piano and the cello. I love everything about music, from the live entertainment aspect to the post-production and producing aspects. I’m now directing music videos, going on tours with up-and-coming R&B artists, and working closely with promoting Asian music festivals, hoping to break new ground in the U.S. and international markets. I’m working in three big dimensions right now. One is working with young artists from 0 to 1, like helping the younger artists bring their voices up in the music industry, helping them start their brand, figure out their brand, and build it. I’ve always enjoyed doing that other than working with more prominent artists because it’s these younger artists who have the most creative voice and need the most help. The second thing is touring with many bigger artists from China who are trying to expand their voice into the U.S., trying to spread that culture and using music to break the barriers. Many of these artists have a vast influence, averaging six million followers in China. Helping them bring that energy into the U.S. and creating a new path for them are also significant parts of what I do. Last, but not least, I am working closely with a producer on starting a new visual studio in the U.S., specifically on producing visual content from still live to video for music and entertainment-related content.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I’ve joked about clients trusting me and me not messing up yet regarding colors and colorblindness. I certainly saw it as an obstacle when I first started, especially coming from a family that has many artists who also happen to break new ground with this obstacle. But when I first discovered this, it was because my teacher and my peers realized that I was drawing untypical colors for very obvious things, such as the sky blue that I typically didn’t paint as blue, and that was how we discovered it. Afterward, I saw it as something I couldn’t control and started looking at it from a more unique standpoint. Through proper training and education, I was able to learn what so-called the correct ways of doing things. I can do things the way people think is accurate, and after being able to do that, I am more confident that Doing the things I think are correct actually creates more exciting results. I’m proud of that because that makes my voice more unique, and that’s the most genuine part of me creating art. I literally see things differently from how other people would.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
To me, so much of art is about collaboration. I’ve never created art by myself because I’ve never had that eagerness in myself as an artist and always believed that creating a better and more significant result for the audience rather than self-satisfaction is more important. And I feel like there are so many experts and voices that I want to incorporate in my work to get more dimension, where I must work with others. Whether writing a song or photography works, it’s more about the interaction I get when working with others that sparks many exciting results. If I design all these ice myself without the culinary expert, it would all be visually aesthetic or pleasing. Still, they might not add the holistic cuisine aspect to the piece.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Onlyabowl.com
- Instagram: @Onlyabowl
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbycheung0123
