LUMENous GARDEN: HONG KONG
Hong Kong based Swire Properties is, for the seventh year running, one of the sponsors of Art Basel, offering a premier platform for renowned artists and galleries. Committed to bringing art to the public, Swire is running a series of programmes and activations in its various properties that are open to all. At Pacific Place, Hong Kong’s premier lifestyle hub, a large-scale, interactive installation, “LUMENous GARDEN” will be in situ from 19 March until 14 April.
Turning Garden Court into an oasis filled with an interactive experience, FoldHaus, an American art collective, is bringing their signature and participatory artwork to Asia for the very first time. Once you step inside ‘LUMENous GARDEN’, you will be greeted by SHRUMEN LUMEN, an enormous pair of origami mushrooms, measuring 5.5m and 4.4m tall, and BLUMEN LUMEN, a giant origami 4.5m tall flower. As visitors stand on the footpads located beneath the giant mushrooms, they transform from flat umbrella portobellos into bulbous caps. Similarly, BLUMEN LUMEN blooms into life when the visitors trigger sensors, creating a magical experience for visitors. Every day, between 7:30 and 8:30pm, the lights of Pacific Place will be dimmed so that visitors may enjoy the sculptures in a low light environment. Thousands of embedded LEDs glow through the translucent outer skin of the sculptures, producing a dazzling, sensory art experience.
Jesse Silver and Joerg Student
Taking inspiration from the natural world, FoldHaus’ work is designed to be touched, interacted with, and experienced, in addition to being looked at. Since their larger-than-life debut at Burning Man in 2010, FoldHaus has continued to create sensations throughout the world. Last year, SHRUMEN LUMEN was hand-picked from over 300 Burning Man artworks by the Smithsonian Institute’s Renwick Gallery, in Washington, D.C. as part of their “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” exhibition. The immersive show is now touring worldwide, with its next stop at Cincinnati Art Museum, in Ohio, in April 2019. LUMENous GARDEN has also successfully transported the pulsating, thriving spirit of the contemporary maker culture all the way from Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to Hong Kong.
Jesse Silver and Joerg Student, lead artists of FoldHaus, said: “Our art lives at the intersection of nature and technology. We enjoy playing with the tension between the mechanical aspects of our kinetic art, while making sure that the experience is simply joyful. We are an art collective and our sculptures are designed to be realised in a labour intensive process that requires the participation and enthusiasm of a large team of volunteers. It is art for the community, by the community, and the build process is as much a part of the art as its final result, which are both meant to be enjoyed by many.”
Theresa Leung, General Manager of Pacific Place commented: “We are committed to bringing art experiences to the people of Hong Kong and are, once again, excited to inspire visitors of Pacific Place with the arrival of LUMENous GARDEN. FoldHaus’s giant origami sculptures always arouse curiosity and wonder in all who interact with them, and we can’t wait to see how they are perceived at Garden Court.”
Aside from the wonderfully exotic LUMENous GARDEN, Pacific Place will also be the venue sponsor of a live painting performance by a Japanese young and energetic emerging artist Miwa Komatsu. Drawing on her childhood spent in a rich natural environment, Miwa’s art incorporates a mix of methods, including copperplate engraving, acrylic painting and even Arita-porcelain. At Pacific Place, she will be using her hands to create a new piece of artwork in front of the audience, sure to leave a lasting visual memory for her audience.
Miwa Komatsu
‘You Are My Other Me’
in the vibrant Admiralty district, Starstreet Precinct is hosting a large-scale sculpture ‘You Are My Other Me’ by New York-based artist, Derick Melander. Made entirely from second-hand clothing, the fabrics have been carefully-folded and stacked to depict a view of the setting sun, as seen from the open sea. The statement piece seeks to drive awareness of textile waste, and enhance the message of sustainability that is strung through much of the precinct’s tenant base and activations. Clothing from the sculpture will then be donated to local NGO, Redress, who will then sell, donate, and recycle the fabrics.
