June Ho’s ‘Soft Noise’: A Moment of Peace in a Hectic Place

Exactly half of the 10 pieces that comprise Soft Noise depict the simple intimacy of life at home. The other half celebrate tranquil moments of unexpected respite — found in a moonlit swimming pool or a rustic bus stop — the fleeting sense of blissful solitude that one can enjoy only unobserved, yet outdoors. Taken together, this quietly reflective collection offers an escapist’s daydream of an atypical Hong Kong — the singular view of June Ho, the soft-spoken artist whose modest, muted prints are on display at Wyndham Social in Central until 25 October.

The conflict between interior and exterior spaces plays out figuratively in “Coffee, Breeze, and a Stretching Cat,” in which a miniature figure races past a relaxed feline, with a croissant and steaming cup arranged in front of a leafy window view from the artist’s Tsuen Wan home. In reality, she never has a moment to enjoy these simple pleasures in her morning rush to work, teaching art at a nearby middle school in Lei Muk Shue.

A break from movement, if only for a few moments, is something to be treasured in Ho’s world — as captured in “Waypoint,” where a lone figure waits at a bus interchange, changing lines at the Shing Mun Tunnels. A sudden drizzle brought peace, “washing away the restless quiet of my anxiety,” remembers Ho. “Suddenly there’s a rainfall and it’s a very peaceful moment — there’s a mountain around and I feel I’m the only one in this whole world.” The same sense of solitude appears in “Winter Park,” which depicts an empty public space in far frostier hues, devoid of play or humanity. “It’s a very cool winter. So nobody will wake up so early and go to the park,” says Ho. “A quiet and peaceful moment for me.”

From the frosty park to the rainy bus stop, a sensitivity to weather — an elemental force that cares nothing for Hong Kong’s climate-controlled skyscrapers — runs throughout the work, epitomised in Ho’s use of cold and warm shades selected after hours of experimentation. Ho learnt her patience-testing practice from prominent Hong Kong-born printmaker Chung Tai-fu.

Alone, not lonely

All but one of the works resulting from Ho’s meticulous printmaking experiments were created in the past three months. The exception is a work from 2022, “Fireworks Over The Swimming Pool,” which imagines an illuminated celebration after Ho found the outdoor pool at The Chinese University of Hong Kong drained and empty. “Gazing quietly at the drained swimming pool, it felt so lonely that I couldn’t help but want to set off fireworks for it,” she writes in the notes.

Whether framed by skyscrapers or serene seas, there is never more than one figure depicted in Ho’s works. The scenes can look lonely, but being alone does not necessarily mean something is lacking. “They are not separate. You are lonely, but you are also very peaceful,” she adds. “That’s not a bad moment for me — I enjoy it.”

Yet heartbreak hangs over a pair of works. In “The Journey Within I” and its sequel, a placid woman is shown curled up first on a chair and then in bed beneath the covers. In both cases, cats accompany the healing process following a breakup, inspired by the recent experience of a friend unable to emotionally engage with her own loss. “My friend had just [ended] a very long, stable relationship, but she acted like nothing happened,” remembers Ho. “So I have to comfort her. She needs me to stay with her. She needs care. She needs to sleep.”

The loss is personal in the two-part “Faraway Seas,” in which a small landscape depicts the artist staring out to sea while on holiday in Atami, and a larger square canvas zooms in on the object of her gaze — birds and buoys bobbing in the cool blue sea off the Japanese city’s coastline. Focusing on a distant spot in the ocean was a way to drown out the noise of others around her. “The last time I went to the sea to clear my head, you weren’t there, and after that, you were really gone,” read the exhibition notes, addressing an ex-boyfriend. “But I’m okay now,” Ho quickly adds while walking Zolima CityMag through her works.

On the same trip, Ho indulged in some retail therapy in Tokyo. In the pop art-inspired silk-screen “Shinjuku,” the artist looks mournfully to the floor, adrift amid the bustle. “I am very troubled,” says Ho. “I don’t like the city. But I enjoy travelling in a very noisy place. Sometimes memories come up.” 

Yet the day ended happily as she shopped for the Japanese toys she covets. Ho estimates she has amassed more than 100 of the plastic pieces, which typically cost little more than HK$15. “Having one or two is not that satisfying — having all of them will be the full collection,” she muses. “Why is it important to me? I like something to be perfect.” 

Ho takes great solace in artfully arranging her collections, an experience that brings peace and focus, as depicted in the warm interiors of “A Corner of My Room.” Its partner piece, “Room Full of Sunlight,” celebrates the simple joy of a bedroom facing west.

Mindful embrace

Hong Kong wasn’t always home. Ho’s family emigrated from rural Guangdong when she was eight years old, and at first she found the city overwhelming. Ho grew up in the shadow of Kam Shan, in Shek Lei Estate in northeast Kwai Chung, but still holds a “body memory” of the squat house, wet sun and morning birdsong of her rural upbringing. “When I moved to Hong Kong, I was not that happy because all around me were tall buildings,” remembers the 36-year-old. “So maybe I just transformed my mind and put my eyes on nature.”

Ultimately, that refocusing allowed Ho to fall in love with Hong Kong, and that may be the most valuable lesson to take away from Soft Noise — an intentional dwelling on what you find dear and a mindful embrace of peaceful moments where you might least expect them.

“Everybody thinks of Hong Kong as a very big, busy city with a lot of tall buildings, but actually there’s a lot of green and blue — the mountains, the seas and the rural areas — those are very important to this city,” adds Ho. “Without those things, Hong Kong is not Hong Kong.”

June Ho’s Soft Noise is on display at Wyndham Social until 25 October.