Ahead of his multimedia show E-Garden, local artist Hoi Chiu talks to Ben Sin about his vision and idea of a virtual world.

Remember near the end of The Matrix Reloaded, when Neo made his way to the Architect searching for answers but instead was bombarded with a complicated and convoluted speech with big words (“vis-à-vis”, “ergo”, “concordantly”) that had not just Neo, but all of us watching in the cinemas, scratching our heads? Talking to 35-year-old Hoi Chiu about his upcoming live multimedia show E-Garden is a similar experience. The fact that his show even sounds like the Matrix only adds to the irony. “E-Garden is a virtual nirvana, a place of extreme happiness for those with a puzzling soul,” he says. “Each human in the garden will have their flower, like an insect.”

If you’re lost at this point, let it be known that Hoi Chiu’s mind works at a different level. If you look up “eccentric artist” in the dictionary, his picture probably shows up because he fits those stereotypical qualities to a tee. There’s his stage name, meaning ocean wave in Cantonese, which he spends minutes explaining. There are his abstract illustrations, which E-Garden is based on, featuring a mishmash of shapes, lines, colours, and the occasional body parts. There’s his fascination with mortality and Armageddon (2012, the year not the crappy movie, is a popular topic of discussion for him), and of course, there’s his vision that humans and insects are the same when it comes to love.

“Insects behave the way we do when we’re in love, very instinctive, and it takes on many forms,” says the man whose real name is Choi Kam-chiu. These insect/humans made their first appearance in 2003 when Choi performed a series of shows called Hoi Chiu. Purity. Love Making, which had performers using a series of body movements to reenact being an insect… in love. A year later, Choi and his wife, dancer/actress/artist/musician Maggie Blue O’Hara, started the multimedia performance company All Theatre Art Association, which took advantage of the couple’s passion and skills in a variety of arts.

A skillful sand painter, Choi has forged a fine career over the past seven years providing his services to everyone from Eason Chan to Standard Chartered Bank. But as most artists will confirm, making big bucks from corporate companies satisfies their wallet but not their desire. This is what E-Garden is for. “E-Garden and my first show connect the world I have created,” he says. Instead of writing a script – which he has experience doing from his days as brief foray into television in the 1990s – the multi-talented artist decided to use his illustrations to drive the story. Such method, especially considering how abstract his illustrations are, could make for one daedal saga. “I think many people will interpret it differently,” he says. And that’s the way he likes it.

While Choi’s illustration is the centre of attention and the driving force of story, there are many more elements to the show. As a multimedia performance, E-Garden features live music (by his wife), elaborate costumes and sets, and meticulously choreographed body movements by the performers on stage. “Utilising multimedia is important because this is a story that deals with a virtual world and technology,” he says, explaining that the internet is “an easy way to lose ourselves” because “all forms of ourselves can be uploaded, and then deleted”. “To put it simply,” Choi says. “E-Garden is a place where everything has been deleted and only purity exists.”

E-Garden is at Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre’s Black Box Theatre from Thu 1-Sun 4. Tickets: 2734 9009; www.urbtix.hk.