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Swire Properties Arts Month Returns with Installations from Acclaimed British and Norwegian Artists and Digital Art

05 May 2021

Swire Properties Arts Month Returns with Installations from Acclaimed British and Norwegian Artists and Digital Art

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

  • 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.

.Renowned British designer Paul Cocksedge at the debut of “Please Be Seated” in London

.Paul Cocksedge’s sketch of “Please Be Seated” that is specially created for Hong Kong and will be permanently installed in Taikoo Park

.Eminent British artist Michael Craig-Martin Photo © Caroline True. Courtesy Gagosian

.High Heel (pink) by Michael Craig-Martin

.Bright Idea by Michael Craig-Martin

.Headphones (blue) by Michael Craig-Martin

.ArtisTree Selects: Light In/Out film and exhibition © Carlos Jimenez