Hongkongers will be scrambling to see hundreds of illuminated egg-shaped objects lighting up Victoria Harbour in an installation by a team of international artists, one of five free pop-ups at the waterfront as part of “Art March”.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said on Wednesday that it expected more than 2 million people to visit the five installations, with two on Hong Kong Island and three in Kowloon between March 25 and June 2.
“This year, we are collaborating with internationally renowned teams and local artists to create outdoor installations that fuse art, science and technology to bring brand new experiences to residents,” said department director Vincent Liu, adding that this year was the second edition of the “Art@Harbour” initiative.
“The Art@Harbour initiative leverages Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria Harbour [as a backdrop] for the artistic installations in the hope of making it into our artistic brand,” deputy director Eve Tam Mei-yee said.
The installation, titled “Continuous”, at Tamar Park in Admiralty features about 200 egg-shaped objects, each of which are three metres or five metres tall. The ovoids, which sit both on land and water in the harbour, are a collaboration between the department and Japanese brand teamLab, an interdisciplinary group of artists formed in 2001 in Tokyo.
Tam said the installation bore the hallmarks of the art collective’s still and contemplative style, and he encouraged visitors to interact calmly with the exhibits, which are accompanied by music.
Liu said: “The [Chinese] name of the installation refers to ripples of light, with the concept of connecting humans and nature through light as it visually blurs the boundary between land and water … And eggs, resembling the shape of these ovoids, are a symbol of life that is vital to the world.”
Another display also located in Tamar Park involves two interactive installations, “Harbour Cup” and “Schrödinger’s Bed”, by local art team LAAB Architects and artist Dylan Kwok.
Under the theme of “Science in Art”, Harbour Cup is inspired by table football, with solar panels lighting up whenever a ball in the installation moves, while Schrödinger’s Bed features large inflatable cats posing in cube structures that double as rest areas for the public.
The two interactive installations cost about HK$50 million overall, according to the authorities.
On the other side of the harbour, the K11 Group will present a sculpture by Polish artist Alicja Kwade on the promenade outside its Musea shopping centre. The facades of Tsim Sha Tsui Centre and Empire Centre, both owned by developer Sino Group, will be illuminated by a large-scale digital art installation produced by five groups of artists from Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Hong Kong.
A multisensory LED art installation titled “Voyage with Van Gogh” will also be hosted at the Hong Kong Cultural Center Piazza. It is jointly organised by the First Initiative Foundation and the Van Gogh Heritage Foundation, and supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund. The department stopped short of revealing the amount of funds approved for the project.
The Hong Kong government has grouped together a range of cultural events and programmes under the new Art March banner for the first time, and authorities have offered organisational and funding support over the period.
The government said it planned to offer free tram rides and Star Ferry trips, as well as hand out ice cream, as part of a big promotional push for the events designed to attract more tourists.
Hong Kong’s Art March aims to bring dash of colour to local economy
Hong Kong’s Art March aims to bring dash of colour to local economy
A spate of high-profile cultural events will take place this month, ranging from annual fixtures such as Art Basel to new attractions including the International Cultural Summit and ComplexCon.
Separately, the department also announced a host of events paying tribute to Hong Kong martial arts novelist Louis Cha Leung-yung, considered the world’s most popular Chinese writer, whose 15 volumes of works had been translated into 14 languages and whose books had sold more than 100 million copies.
“Cha has a long-lasting impact on the global literary stage,” Liu said. “This Friday marks his 100th birthday in the lunar calendar. Upon consultation with his family, we decided to kick off the commemoration events on this day.”
Newly commissioned sculptures of 32 of the most well-known characters from Cha’s works of fiction will be on display at the Heritage Museum in Sha Tin and Edinburgh Place in Central from Friday, while costumes worn in the television adaptations of his novels will also be exhibited during the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival in April.
Other activities to celebrate his legacy include themed talks, workshops, concert performances, nighttime visits of his exhibitions, the sale of specially designed stamps and the display of ancient Chinese costumes known as hanfu. Some of them will last until October this year.
Source: scmp.com
