HONG KONG PUBLIC ART EXHIBITION
Galactus, by Simon Birch. Hope and Glory installation shot.
Simon Birch, Hong Kong’s celebrated Englishman artist of Armenian heritage, becomes the ringleader of artists in his conceptual circus ‘Hope and Glory,’ which features a bevy of artists as creative collaborators.
The exhibition, curated by Valerie Doran in Hong Kong, is comprised of 20 interlinked multi-media installations and takes on enormous proportions with a force of 16 credited arts professionals and organizations supporting Birch’s efforts.
Under Birch’s artistic direction, the creative team successfully realizes a space of wonder, effectually filling a 20,000 square foot facility with a visual reinterpretation of the sensory experience of a traditional circus in the middle of urban Hong Kong.
Installation and sculpture
The exhibition’s installation and sculpture works dominate the sprawling art space to create a fantasy atmosphere. Viewers wander throughout the space, which has been turned into a surreal labyrinth and enter interactive video pods, where they individually experience custom-made video works complete with meticulously crafted costume production, sound design, and film editing.
Themes: art as a spectacle, as circus
The monumental show explores various major themes, including the idea of art as a spectacle; a fascination with circuses and sideshows, science fiction and ‘hero’ mythologies, all while maintaining an acute awareness of traditional craftsmanship and the labour involved in art production.
The nature of the exhibition required extraordinary measures to properly express Birch’s vision. Curator Valerie Doran writes:
“Collaborating with artists, designers, actors, filmmakers, technicians, curators, educators, costumers, photographers, to bring this world into being, was necessary. And locating this world in a centralized space in Hong Kong was also necessary.”
All 20 works comprising Hope and Glory can be viewed online here, courtesy of the 10 Chancery Lane Gallery in Hong Kong, which represents Birch.
The creative collaborators who were an integral part of expressing Simon Birch’s vision of Hope and Glory include:
Zero Contact Point, by Cang Xin. Hope and Glory installation shot.
Valerie Doran (Hong Kong)- Curator
Paul Kember and Kplusk Architects (Hong Kong) – Exhibition Technical Design
Anothermoutainman (aka Stanley Wong, Hong Kong) – Graphic Design
James Lavelle and UNKLE (London) – Composition and performance of soundtracks for films: ‘All Heads Turn As the Hunt Goes By’,’Juggernaut’, and ‘Clear Air Turbulence’
Gary Gunn (New York) – Composition and production of soundtracks for films: ‘The Arrival Vengeance’,’I used to think I was the Blade Runner, now I know I’m the replicant’, ‘Tannhauser’, and ‘Azhanti High Lightning’
LucyAndBart (Amsterdam) – Designers for ‘Crystallized’ hologram, and design consultant for ‘Twilight Shadows of the Bright Face’ costumes
Florian Ma (Hong Kong)- Film editing and graphic design
Alvina Lee Chui Ping (Hong Kong) – Costume production for ‘Twilight Shadows of the Bright Face’
Robert Peckham (Hong Kong) – Concept and educational consultant
Prodip (Hong Kong) – Production of paintings re-interpreting ‘Twilight Shadows of the Bright Face’
Bamboo Star (Hong Kong) – Production of Film ‘The Heaven 17’
Douglas Young (Hong Kong) – Co-design and production of ‘Crawling from the Wreckage’ living room environment
Cang Xin (PRC) – Creation and production of ‘Zero Point Contact’ Sculpture
Wing Shya (Hong Kong) – Photography and production of ‘Hutton’ film
Eric Hu (Hong Kong) – Co-production and filming of ‘Kho Virap’ film
Eddie Cheung (Hong Kong) – Composition and production of soundtracks for ‘Kho Virap’ film and ‘Crystalised’ hologram film
Non-profit public art with Hong Kong government support
Hope and Glory runs from April 8- May 30, 2010, and is presented by the non-profit Birch Foundation with generous support from the Hong Kong government as a cultural enrichment for the Hong Kong public. The exhibition event is held in an ideal location which was made available to the Birch Foundation free of charge. Entry into the exhibition is free, and a series of innovative forums and interactive educational events exploring topics and questions generated by the artworks will be held throughout the exhibition period.
Twilight Shadows Of The Bright Face, opening performance, by Simon Birch. Hope and Glory video installation shot.
Forums
Fri 07 May 2010 . Forum 1 ‘Art as Place’
Fri 14 May 2010 . Forum 2 ‘Re-Generation, De-Generation’
Fri 28 May 2010 . Forum 3 ‘HOPE & GLORY : The Making’Exhibition and Forum Location:
ArtisTree
1/F Cornwall House
TaiKoo Place, Island East
Hong Kong (MTR: Quarry bay, Exit A)
Open Daily from 10 am – 8 pm (Free Entrance)
Related Posts
- Asia Art Forum 2010 meets growing demand for art collector education in China – Jing Daily– May 10
- Three leading Chinese art curators to educate collectors at Asia Art Forum 2010 – Apr 10
- Hong Kong artist ‘anothermountainman’ debuts solo photo exhibition in UK – Apr 10
- Hong Kong hailed as art’s Promised Land by Art+Auction Magazine – Apr 10
EW/KCE
Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for more on Asian contemporary art news
Art Radar Asia 