From Reflection to Recognition: Dr. Yu’s Journey Behind “Lighthouses”

With a background that spans philosophy, psychology, fine art, and business, Hong Kong-based artist Dr. Yu Kwok Wai approaches creativity not as a rigid discipline, but as a space for exploration, play, and reflection. His latest work, Lighthouses, a mixed media collage, recently earned the Silver Prize at the 2025 Summer Season of the Future Art & Design Award UK, where it stood out for its poetic depth and tactile storytelling.

Inspired by a tranquil afternoon sketching by the sea, Dr. Yu’s collage captures a fleeting yet profound moment—sunlight glinting on water, clouds drifting slowly, and twin lighthouses keeping silent watch. “It felt like a visual haiku,” he recalls, “and I knew I didn’t want to just paint it—I wanted to build it.” Using torn fragments of recycled magazines, he layered textures and color to recreate that quiet, luminous experience piece by piece.

The medium itself shaped the message. “Collage offers a beautiful unpredictability,” he shares. “I never know what I’ll find in a scrap of paper—but that surprise becomes part of the rhythm.” For Dr. Yu, repurposed materials aren’t just a sustainable choice—they carry philosophical weight. “Every piece has a past, and together, they form something new—just like how memories build over time.” His decision to embed the phrase “Way of Seeing Things” into the artwork became a key moment in the process. “I wanted the audience to not just look at the image, but feel encouraged to view their own world differently. Art, at its best, helps us reinterpret the familiar.”

1. Could you let us know a bit more about yourself and what inspired you to pursue a career in creative / art?

My artistic approach is driven by a spirit of exploration and experimentation. To me, art is not a rigid discipline—it’s a playful invitation, a field where curiosity and discovery are always welcome. I began my journey with traditional painting: oils, watercolour, gouache, pastel—each medium revealing new possibilities. But in recent years, I’ve been captivated by the spontaneity and texture of collage. It’s a process filled with poetic unpredictability, where materials guide the outcome as much as intention does. That sense of surprise is what keeps me creating. My path into art wasn’t linear. My academic journey has spanned philosophy, psychology, fine art, business analytics, and business administration—across undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral studies. These fields have all shaped how I see and practice art. For me, art is not just a means of expression; it’s also a mode of inquiry. I believe art is embedded in our daily lives, hidden in the quiet corners of memory, objects, and emotions. My works attempt to hold onto those fleeting fragments and make them visible again. I see beauty in the ordinary—and I believe everyone has the capacity to connect with art in personal, meaningful ways.

Through exhibitions, I hope to engage in dialogue—to listen, to reflect, and to grow through the audience's feedback. With many years of experience in both industrial and commercial sectors, I’ve come to deeply value innovation. I bring that forward-thinking energy into my artistic practice, always looking for fresh methods, new materials, and original perspectives that challenge what art can be.

2. What was the initial inspiration behind this project? Was there a specific idea, moment, or question that sparked its development?

The project “Lighthouses” was sparked by a quiet moment that etched itself into my memory. I was sketching by the sea in Hong Kong one weekend, and the elements—the soft glitter of sunlight on water, twin lighthouses standing sentry, slow-moving clouds—felt like a visual haiku. In that stillness, I found something moving and profound. The lighthouses became symbols of inner strength for me—silent guides in both the physical and metaphorical sense. I knew I wanted to immortalize that moment not in paint, but through collage. When I worked on this project, I literally built the image layer by layer—gluing down scraps of paper, overlapping textures, and arranging bits of color—so viewers could see and feel each piece stacked upon the last. It was a hands-on process that mirrored how memories accumulate over time: each new moment added a fragment to the picture, creating genuine depth and detail.

3. What was the most exciting or challenging part of creating the work?

To be honest, there wasn’t a struggle in the traditional sense. The real thrill came from the limitations—and surprises—of the medium. Using repurposed magazine pages meant I never quite knew what texture or pattern I’d find. Sometimes I wouldn’t have the color I imagined… but I’d stumble upon something even better. That discovery process kept me on my toes. I finished the piece in just under two hours because the rhythm of selecting and composing the paper flowed so fluidly. What made the project especially meaningful was incorporating the Chinese phrase “Way of Seeing Things” into the artwork itself. I wanted the audience to feel this message both visually and emotionally—that art, at its best, helps us reinterpret the world with fresh eyes.

4. How does working with recycled materials influence the narrative or values behind your art?

Using recycled magazine pages adds not only a tactile charm but also a philosophical dimension to the piece. Each scrap of paper carried its own history—text, image, texture—and by reassembling them into a new whole, I was giving these fragments a second life. Much like how a lighthouse gathers meaning from what it illuminates, these materials gained new value through art.

It’s also a statement on sustainability, of course—but more than that, it’s about transformation. I love balancing abstraction and realism; how a torn corner becomes a crashing wave, or how the gradient of an advertisement becomes sunlight spilling over water. There’s a natural rhythm that emerges from this process—a visual echo of nature’s motion and rebirth.

5. How was your experience taking part in the Future Art & Design Award UK?

Taking part in the Future Art & Design Award UK was truly a rewarding experience. It didn’t just offer me a platform, it offered me a provocation. It challenged me to reconsider how I frame and communicate my work, pushing me to contextualize my artistic choices more clearly and meaningfully. That process helped uncover deeper layers within the piece that I hadn’t articulated before. More than anything, the award prompted a moment of pause and reflection—a space to ask: What am I really saying through this work? In doing so, it deepened both the intention behind my practice and the connection I feel with the audience. That’s a rare and beautiful opportunity.