3 Asian contemporary artists bring artisanal touch to Sai Yuen Lane
Dec 06, 2017
Part of the Bohemian Collection under The Artisanal Movement of New World Development, Adrian Cheng’s latest residential project, Artisan House, looks to bring the cool urban vibe of Brooklyn to Hong Kong’s Western District
Taking this as his inspiration, Adrian Cheng, executive vice-chairman and general manager of New World Development Company Limited, commissioned three contemporary Asian artists Adrian Wong, Samson Young and Wang Shang to design a clubhouse that reflects the merging of the old and new in the local neighbourhood.
Brooklyn and Hong Kong’s Western District are both home to some of the most widely-acclaimed yet more affordable art galleries and co-working spaces. This is where creative minds come together to inspire and exchange ideas. Using this as their inspiration contemporary artists Adrian Wong, Samson Young and Wang Shang created three nostalgic delicate artworks reflecting character of the neighbourhood.
Adrian Wong, winner of the 2013-14 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, was extremely taken by the little local shops and local community of the area, faced with the changes of the modern world. He created an artwork which explores this concept of “cultural identity” and his own interpretation of the architecture of Sai Yuen Lane.
Samson Young, who represented Hong Kong at the 57th Venice Biennale this year, drew on a more performative approach—inviting guests to not just see his work but to hear it as well. A composer and a media artist based in Hong Kong, Young’s artwork looks to challenge people’s interactions with the everyday, objects, stories and spaces.
His latest immersive piece is an exploration of Sai Yuen Lane and its sonic environment by purposefully selecting unexpected times and locations to record the urban soundscape of the Western district; thus creating an auditory topography of the area.
Wang Shang, a selected Beijing artist for Art Basel 2017, often references nature and culture in his work. ‘Mons Annularia’ reflects the symbiotic relationship between nature and the architecture of Sai Yuen Lane through hexagonal structures (the building blocks of living plant forms), botanical references and other layered patterns, which make up an aerial garden.
Through this piece Wang Shang examines how nature, people and architecture coexist—much like in any neighbourhood.
