Inspired works by SKY YUTAKA, PAO, Chipgoodguy Studio and Pengguin
First-ever Aurora Lights Spectacular in Hong Kong
First-ever Art Scholarships dedicated to high-school students and undergraduates
(Hong Kong, 10 November 2016) – From 11 November 2016 to 9 January 2017, K11 is showcasing for the first time in Hong Kong A World in a Well by Song Dong, one of the most internationally renowned contemporary artists from China. Inspired by Song Dong’s artwork, a number of international and local artists and designers are also jointly presenting “A WORLD IN A WELL” Exhibition, art-works primarily made from recycling materials to explore the concept of surplus value and engage the public to participate in an art journey to discover new ways of seeing the world during the festive season. The artworks include: Reflections, an over 100-meter long Aurora-inspired large-scale installation art floating above the K11 Piazza landscape, as well as an over 2,000-square-foot interactive art maze rich in dark humour. Additionally, K11 has always been very keen on nurturing young talents, and for the first time, they have established scholarships for high-school students and undergraduates who apply for K11 Art Keen this year. They aim to support young people who are interested in developing their future career in arts industry, helping them to understand the work in real practice comprehensively. Those who fulfil the requirements can receive a full scholarship on a half-year art course, and may even have an internship opportunity at K11 after graduation.
Throughout Song Dong’s artistic career, he has been committed to the idea that “life is art, art is life”. By exploring new values in discarded objects, he makes them a part of life again, and turns art exhibitions into family gathering spaces. K11 is displaying his large-scale art installation A World in a Well for the first time in Hong Kong, inviting art lovers to appreciate Song Dong’s life as an artist and offering the public an opportunity for reflection, retrospection and looking ahead as one year transitions into another.
Installed at K11 Atrium, the main structure of the over 5-meter tall A World in a Well is created from more than 40 recycled windows and doors. The golden mirrors embedded in the exterior of the artwork signify a luxurious yet illusory world. When stepping into this magnificent well, the surrounding mirrors constantly reflect the lights overhead to project a gorgeous and infinite visual spectacle, presenting a sharp contrast to the reality of a claustrophobic space. This “glamorous emptiness” created by Song Dong is a metaphor for his inner world and the real world. In his eyes, people are narrow-minded like frogs trapped at the bottom of wells, though our wells may differ in size. Leaving one well may yet mean facing a larger one. However, as long as people boldly face their own limitations and challenges, and re-evaluate their sense of self-worth, they may come to a different understanding of the world. By stepping inside the well together, visitors can witness the ingenious way Song Dong strip away forms and functions of everyday objects to unleash fresh possibilities.
This year, K11 has invited several international and local artists and designers to create a series of art works inspired by A World in a Well to pay tribute to Song Dong. SKY YUTAKA, an emerging multidisciplinary Hong Kong based architecture studio, has designed Reflections, a 9-meter high, large-scale installation for K11. Inspired by Aurora lights, architects Sarah Kwok Yan Lee and Yutaka Yano have designed an over 100-meter long reflective silver stream floating above the K11 Piazza landscape. To complement the installation, Hong Kong’s first-ever Aurora Lights Spectacular will be presented nightly from 5:00 to 10:00 under the themes of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The show features 40 sets of special lighting effects matched with sounds and images from nature associated with each season, as if unleashing dancing northern lights amidst the bustling city and presenting visitors a chance to make holiday wishes under its romantic glow.
In addition, SKY YUTAKA has designed A World in a Well Pop-up Store by K11 Design Store at the Atrium, which offers Christmas gift selections, including an exclusive kaleidoscope designed by Song Dong. The modular display units of the store feature angular geometries with reflective gold top surfaces and vertical surfaces clad in reclaimed timber, paying tribute to the signature artwork of Song Dong.
Inspired by the reflective recycled windows and doors used in Song Dong’s A World in a Well, artists in Beijing and Hong Kong has collectively launched PAO x Chipgoodguy Studio Exhibition at chi K11 art space. The international team of architects, engineers and urbanists from Beijing’s People’s Architecture Office (PAO) has created an indoor maze-like walk-through experience at the chi K11 art space, using gold fences, reclaimed wood and recycled materials. The design was inspired by the wiremesh security fencing ubiquitous in Bejing’s hutongs. The design team filled the space between the fencing with discarded objected they had collected, as if giving visitors a glimpse into the previous owners and their stories. The maze-like space leads visitors to explore 10 interactive artworks designed by young artist group Chipgoodguy Studio.
Founded by three post-80s and 90s artists, Chipgoodguy Studio likes to turn useless things into unique art works by using abandoned wood objects such as wood debris, wood planks and wine crates collected from refuse collection points, as well as fallen trees after typhoon. This time, the three artists has rediscovered the surplus value of the found wood and turned them into 10 hand-operated mechanical artworks through complex carvings and mechanical assembly. By encouraging visitors to interact with the art works, Chipgoodguy Studio hopes to bring Christmas joy and inspirations to visitors with a quaintly morbid sense of humour. At the end of November, Mad Gaze AR smart glasses will be available for visitors as they explore the maze, augmenting the walk-through experience with real-time bilingual docent service and multiple perspectives on the exhibits.
The local independent design curatorial team Pengguin has collaborated with K11 to present <#MSSSG>, a series of visual image displays in K11 Showcases on G/F, 1/F and 2/F. By re-interpreting meaningful lines through visual displays created with recyclable and eco-friendly materials like mosses, balloons and ladders, they aimed to change the traditional mode of reading. The public are encouraged to take photos and spread new hope and positive spirit by adding @tag and #hashtag as they share with friends and families via social network platform during the festive season.
Always keen on nurturing young talents, K11 has established the creative platform of K11 Art Infinity last year, providing nearly 700 art lovers a wide variety of courses, workshops and internships, to offer structured training programs for students from pre-school to college age.
This year, K11 introduced Art Keen Outstanding Student Scholarship Awards under K11 Art Infinity, offering over 16-year-old high-school students and undergraduates an opportunity to study the halfyear arts course for free, with a potential internship opportunity at K11 after graduation. K11 Art Keen programme aims to explore the relationships and art trend between retail, marketing and public relations, with the help of keynote speakers from diverse professions, inspiring to young art enthusiasts who wish to develop professional careers in arts. The programme helps them to develop a comprehensive understanding of art appreciation and arts management, and pave way for their professional career development. High school students and undergraduates who fulfil the requirement can apply for the scholarship before 11 March 2017, and K11 Art Keen committee will invite qualified candidates for interview.
Apart from the K11 Art Keen programme, K11 Art Infinity has also arranged different activities for art lovers this Christmas, including:
For more details, please refer to the attached factsheet or visit http://k11artinfinity.k11.com/.
This winter, K11 has arranged a series of activities and workshops for Christmas, preparing festive presents for families and friends, including:
All activities and workshops are suitable for children and parents are welcome to join. For more details, please refer to the attached factsheet or visit K11’s official website: hk.k11.com.
High-resolution images can be downloaded via this link: https://goo.gl/exanfs
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A global high-end lifestyle brand operator under New World Group, K11 is the world’s first original brand to pioneer the blend of three essential elements of Art • People • Nature.
Art - K11 not only displays a permanent collection of local young artists’ works, but also allows the public to appreciate different local artworks and performance during shopping and leisure through the provision of various multi-dimensional spaces. This can help enhance the communication and exchanges between local artists and the public, nurture habits of art appreciation, and allow young artists to have more opportunities for showcasing their works so as to foster the development of local art.
People - K11 manages, reorganizes and integrates humanity, history and geography of the adjacent regions from various perspectives in different cities. It revitalizes, regenerates and recreates the humanistic experience, art and culture in the regions so as to create a unique K11 multicultural living area.
Nature - Various green design and technology concepts are taken into account in the interior architecture of K11 projects so as to minimize the negative impacts on the natural environment and upgrade the overall quality of urban public premises. Designed with a garden concept, K11 features a multidimensional natural landscape with a variety of local plants, green roof, vertical greening and urban farming, and creates a perfect integration of natural space and local culture so that visitors feel like indulging in an urban oasis and are inspired to consider the intimate relationship between human and nature.
For inquiry, please contact:
Agnes Yung | 3723 0189 / 6777 0284 agnesyung@K11.com |
Fei Yip | 3723 0058 / 6777 0354 feiyip@K11.com |
Tammy Lam | 3723 0055 / 6138 2139 tammylam@K11.com |
Zoe Yeung | 2533 9903 / 9716 4141 zyeung@webershandwick.com |
Shanice Wong | 2533 9911 / 9219 0007 shawong@webershandwick.com |
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