FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Swire Properties Arts Month Returns with Installations from Acclaimed British and Norwegian Artists and Digital Art
5 May 2021, Hong Kong – Swire Properties Arts Month makes a comeback in May 2021 with an impressive line-up of acclaimed artists that underscores the Company’s mission to make arts and culture a part of everyday life. This year also marks the ninth year of Swire Properties’ partnership with Art Basel in Hong Kong.
Following a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Arts Month – with a programme spanning life-size installations to multimedia exhibitions – will be headlined by international artists famous for singular originality in their fields. They include renowned British designer Paul Cocksedge; eminent British artist Michael Craig-Martin; and Norwegian artist Fredrik Tjærandsen.
Michael Craig-Martin’s series of artworks will be on display at Pacific Place and in Taikoo Park at Taikoo Place. From May to August, both locations will present three of Craig-Martin’s captivating and vibrant steel sculptures, before the works are permanently installed at Taikoo Li Qiantan in Shanghai.
Another highly anticipated piece is “Please Be Seated”, a large-scale wood installation designed by Paul Cocksedge Studio that has been making waves on its tour across Swire Properties’ developments in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. This version of the artwork has been specially created for Hong Kong and will be permanently installed in Taikoo Park for the local community to enjoy.
At Taikoo Place, the ArtisTree exhibition space will showcase a dance film with a large-scale latex installation alongside a collection of cinematic images created by Norwegian artist Fredrik Tjærandsen. His debut show in Asia, the multimedia exhibition marries fashion with movement, film, photography and visual arts, inviting the audience to enjoy a thought-provoking experience.
Guy Bradley, Chief Executive at Swire Properties, said: “We are excited to add more colour and interest to people’s daily lives by immersing our residents, visitors, tenants, staff and the broader Hong Kong community in a captivating interactive arts programme for Swire Properties Arts Month. Arts and culture have the power to engage and inspire, and by hosting these world-class experiences we can inject positive energy into local neighbourhoods as part of our efforts to build vibrant and sustainable communities.”
Swire Properties Arts Month 2021 – Highlights
Taikoo Park, Taikoo Place • Please Be Seated From 19 May 2021
Part of an ongoing collaboration between Swire Properties and British design firm Paul Cocksedge Studio, Please Be Seated makes its Hong Kong debut with an all-new edition at Taikoo Park. Inspired by the ebb and flow of city life, the piece features arches that rise up and curve under to make space for people to pass through or stop and enjoy a moment of relaxation or contemplation. Constructed using sustainably sourced timber, the piece exemplifies Swire Properties’ commitment to sustainable development and its ethos of placemaking – an inviting space that welcomes people to stay and enjoy.
Pacific Place & Taikoo Place • Michael Craig-Martin at Pacific Place 19 May – 9 June 2021: Pacific Place 14 June – 31 August 2021: Taikoo Park, Taikoo Place
Standing at up to three metres tall, these vibrantly coloured sculptures by Michael Craig-Martin – the “Godfather of the Young British Artists” – are larger-than-life renditions of ordinary, everyday objects constructed in powder-coated steel.
Unlike conventional, three-dimensional sculptures, High heel (pink), Headphones (blue) and Bright Idea are in fact line drawings in space. When seen all together, they create a dramatic presence in vivid colours, set against the backdrop of Pacific Place and Taikoo Park. Such works allow passers-by to look through the transparent spaces found within the sculptures and attach their own personal associations to each object.
ArtisTree, Taikoo Place • ArtisTree Selects: Light In/Out film and exhibition Taikoo Place Tenant Preview: 18 May – 23 May 2021, 11am – 7pm Public viewing: 24 May – 8 June 2021, 11am – 7pm
This multimedia exhibition invites visitors to experience the film, Light In/Out, which marries the colourful, eccentric bubble dresses created by Norwegian artist Fredrik Tjærandsen and mesmerising images of his work.
Visitor will pass through a large sculpture constructed with the same material as that of the bubble dresses to appreciate the film, which draws inspiration from the changing aspects of lives under the pandemic to reflect human resilience and reconnection. The film allows visitors to interact with shapes, movement and visual textures in the installation for an inspiring immersive experience. The bubble dresses are made from biodegradable natural rubber latex, sourced sustainably and responsibly from growers in Sri Lanka.
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About Swire Properties
Swire Properties develops and manages commercial, retail, hotel and residential properties, with a particular focus on mixed-use developments in prime locations at major mass transportation intersections. Swire Properties is listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and its investment portfolio in Hong Kong comprises Taikoo Place, Cityplaza and Pacific Place. In addition to Hong Kong, the Company has investments in the Chinese mainland, the United States, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Visit Swire Properties’ website at www.swireproperties.com.
About Pacific Place
Located in the heart of Admiralty, Pacific Place is the destination for exceptional service and unique experiences. As a pioneer of innovative retail concepts in Hong Kong, Pacific Place continues to transform the retail scene by delighting visitors with an array of curated experiences through diversified offerings. Since its inception in 1988, Pacific Place has established itself as Hong Kong’s premier lifestyle hub, a mixed-use development that continues to evolve and grow as the ultimate destination to shop, dine, work, stay, relax and play. It houses one of Hong Kong’s largest collections of luxury brands and diverse dining offerings, making every visit a memorable one. In addition to being a prime transportation hub, Pacific Place is home to three Grade-A office towers, 268 serviced apartments, and four five-star hotels: The Conrad, Island Shangri-La, JW Marriott and The Upper House.
Website: www.pacificplace.com.hk Customer enquiry hotline: (852) 2844 8988 Facebook: @Pacific Place Hong Kong Instagram: @pacificplacehk
About Taikoo Place
Recognised as one of Hong Kong’s best-planned business hubs, Swire Properties’ Taikoo Place is home to over 300 multinational corporations, including many Fortune 500 companies. The first business hub in Hong Kong to be fully equipped with 5G network, the portfolio houses more than 30,000 office workers, offering over 7.1 million sq ft. It comprises a network of ten office towers including One Taikoo Place – the first commercial building in Asia to achieve WELL Core & Shell Version 1 Final Platinum Certification, and One Island East, as well as Two Taikoo Place, scheduled to open in 2022. A wide range of business and leisure amenities are situated within the area, including multi-purpose venue ArtisTree, the co-working hub Blueprint, the private members’club The Refinery, the landscaped garden Taikoo Park, and a variety of restaurants and cafes. Within five-minute walking distance are the shopping mall Cityplaza, lifestyle business hotel EAST Hong Kong, and EAST Residences.
Visit Taikoo Place’s website at www.taikooplace.com.
About Taikoo Li Qiantan
Taikoo Li Qiantan is a retail project jointly developed by Swire Properties and Lujiazui Group. Located in the prime Qiantan International Business District with convenient transportation and a quality lifestyle centred on wellness, the project has a gross floor area of approximately 120,000 sqm and offers 200 to 250 shops with approximately 1,600 car parking spaces. Taikoo Li Qiantan, Swire Properties’ third Taikoo Li project in the Chinese mainland, inherits the unique “Taikoo Li” brand DNA and adopts an open-plan architectural layout with pedestrian-friendly lanes. The project is part of a commercial complex which also includes an adjacent Grade A office tower, New Bund Centre, and a five-star luxury hotel, the Shangri-La Hotel Qiantan.
Partners
About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world's premier art shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through new digital platforms and a number of new initiatives such as The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report and The BMW Art Journey. Art Basel's Global Media Partner is The Financial Times.
For further information, please visit artbasel.com.
About Michael Craig-Martin
A principal figure of British conceptual art, Michael Craig-Martin (b.1941) probes the relationship between objects and images, harnessing the human capacity to imagine absent forms through symbols and pictures. Craig-Martin works across mediums, yet always maintaining elegant restraint and conceptual clarity. Craig-Martin’s sculptures are three-dimensional drawings in space of readily identifiable objects. However, the size, bright palette, and unique flatness of the sculpture undermines the original function and meaning of the object, urging the viewer to question what is really before them.
Craig-Martin’s work is found in numerous public collections around the globe, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Gallery, London; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris. He was an artist trustee of Tate from 1989 to 1999 and was elected to the Royal Academy in 2006. In 2016 he was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to art.
Michael Craig-Martin is represented by Gagosian gagosian.com www.michaelcraigmartin.co.uk/
About Paul Cocksedge Studio
Paul Cocksedge is an internationally acclaimed British designer, who has spent the last decade building a reputation for innovative design, underpinned by research into the limits of technology and materials. His catalogue of work spans design products, architectural projects, installations and sculptures, all infused with the sense of simplicity, joy and wonder that has come to characterise his work.
Having studied under Ron Arad at the Royal College of Art, Cocksedge was nominated for Designer of the Year by London's Design Museum in 2004, just two years after graduation. He established Paul Cocksedge Studio with Joana Pinho in the same year, and the practice has participated in design festivals around the world, adding a sense of playfulness to technologically ingenious sculptures and installations. in 2019 Cocksedge created a VIP Lounge for Swire Properties at Art Basel Hong Kong. Current projects include the studio’s first bridge, in Cape Town, SA. www.paulcocksedgestudio.com