‘Land Art’, an art movement in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked. Vincci Mak of Division of Landscape Architecture and course coordinator of the Common Core Course, ‘Shaping the Landscape: A Quest for Harmony between Nature and the City’ sees land art as an alternative way to approach environmental issues. “In society we have tried policies, data presentation, and many other ways to express the urgency to address environmental issues. However, the issues do not seem to have improved much. Using art as an approach provides another channel to tackle the environmental issues as well as bringing insights that other methods have missed”, said Vincci.

This year, students explore the relationship between culture and nature at a Hakka Village near Lam Tsuen in Tai Po. The village is one of the oldest Hakka villages in Hong Kong, with a traditional village setting that respects the surrounding landscapes. Students spent their reading week at the village to observe the relationship between culture and nature and use art as a medium to communicate their environmental concerns and ideas to the local community. Students’ art works will be showcased in a public exhibition from 13-20 November, 2013 at the Vault at Fringe Club in Central.

The course enhances students’ understanding on the interrelationship between humankind and the environment, as a means for survival and as expressions of culture. The humankind and the environment have always been in harmony. However, under rapid development and industrialization, our way of living has become unsustainable. Today’s landscape reflects humankind’s abuse and mismanagement towards the environment.

Besides lectures and seminars to discuss and critique how different groups in society respond to such imbalance and what they do to restore a healthy reciprocal relationships between human being and nature, students will be introduced to land art through the ‘Land Art Workshop & Exhibition’, where they will explore creative options to express their environmental concerns and opinions via the process of making art.

Being offered as part of Common Core Curriculum, the course has brought new synergy. Vincci finds that the students have had a rewarding learning experience. Students from different disciplines work together on the art pieces and through their discussions and teamwork, they bring their own expertise and knowledge and thus, bring different perspectives on the issues.