Hong Kong art exhibitions to catch this week

Japan's hugely popular Naked Flowers exhibition is coming to Hong Kong for the first time! Set to run from April 27 to October 27 at 1881 Heritage in Tsim Sha Tsui, the exhibition will take visitors on an immersive journey through the world of flowers and uncover their hidden secrets. Explore colossal flower gardens and interactive spaces, and delve into the mysteries of floral life across eight experiential rooms, including the 'Naked Big Book' featuring original Naked design with projection mapping; the 'Big Flower Garden' where visitors can enjoy the fragrance of flowers; 'Microscopy of Flowers', a kaleidoscope-like space with mirrors that rotate to reflect digital art; and more. Be sure to stop at the Naked Cafe Bar where visitors can enjoy floral teas (or cocktails after 6pm!) on an interactive round table with projections of floral designs when a drink is placed down. Early bird tickets are available from now until April 26 at $150 (original price $180) for adults, and $120 (original price $150) for children aged three to 11, full-time students, persons with disabilities, and seniors aged 65 or above. Children under the age of three can enter for free. Bank of China Chill Card credit card holders can also take advantage of an exclusive package for $260 to get two adult tickets and a BOGOF deal on selected drinks at the Naked Cafe Bar.

Discover the fusion of art and community at the TypePop Show hosted by Gate33 Gallery (3/F) at Airside. As part of Hong Kong's Art Month, this exhibition showcases the creative works of 10 contemporary artists, including Katol Lo, Jonathan Mak, Chi-wing Lee, Adonian Chan, and more. Expressing art through words, they weave together stories of Hong Kong's sentiment, culture, and history, focusing on the neighbourhoods of Kowloon City, San Po Kong, To Kwa Wan, and Wong Tai Sin. Don't miss the chance to immerse yourself in large-scale installations and interactive works that capture the essence of these historic pockets of Hong Kong until June 12. 

Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos has unveiled her first-ever immersive installations in Hong Kong as part of Swire Properties’ Arts Month celebrations. The artist is known for working with textiles and this new commissioned work is no exception. Enchanted Forest occupies a large room that has been left in the dark while large-scale installations shaped like liquid droplets hang from the above. Showcasing sewing, knitting, and crochet work on leftover fabric from the House of Dior, these elongated orbs illuminated by LED lights resemble textile stalactites and took a team of 60 over six months to create. In a lobby nearby, Valkyrie Seondeok hangs from the ceiling – while the overall shapes of the forest installation is present here, this sculpture is on an even larger scale, and is named after the women warriors of Norse mythology and the first reigning queen of Silla (before Korea was founded).

As part of the large-scale outdoor art project Art@Harbour 2024, the international art collective teamLab will present teamLab: Continuous at Tamar Park as well as the Central and Western District promenade. The installation will consist of hundreds of luminous ovoids that continuously change colours based on how visitors interact with them. Dozens of trees in the park will also be lit up to change colours and play sounds in response to the ovoids. See this stunning installation on the lawns of Tamar Park, where they will extend out onto Victoria Harbour to highlight Hong Kong’s vibrant waterfront.  Art@Harbour 2024 will also see the Science in Art exhibition along the Central and Western District promenade, featuring two interactive art installations called Harbour Cup and Schrödinger’s Bed. Visit the waterfront from March 25 to June 2 to experience these art exhibits for yourself – if you want to enter the lawn and interact with the exhibits instead of viewing from a distance, then registration is required.

Step into the weird, wacky, and wonderful world of acclaimed British artist Gary Card at his first large-scale solo exhibition in Hong Kong titled People Mountain People Sea. Gary's diverse talents span painting, sculpture, illustration, graphic design, and set design, having worked with some of the biggest artists and designers from around the world. For this exhibition, Gary was inspired by the vibrant fusion of East and West cultures in Hong Kong. Using various objects and elements he's observed during his visits to the city, Gary has crafted a series of bold and unique artworks to transform the historic Oi! Warehouses into a multimedia art space, where animation and sound merge to create an immersive visual and sensory experience. Visit Oi! Street Art Space between now and July 28 to his works and be sure to snap pics of the giant outdoor sculpture on the Oi! Lawn.

Celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT) with their exciting Spring Programme 2024, Factory of Tomorrow. From now to July 14, immerse yourself in a fascinating group exhibition that showcases CHAT's contemporary art collection and newly commissioned works. With artworks by 19 Asian artists, the exhibition explores the role of textiles in Hong Kong's past while delving into the present and future. Through textile works, sculptures, immersive installations, and videos, artists examine themes such as technology, diversity, climate change, and our collective future. Additionally, be sure to experience new elements like the Misfitted: Unspoken Stories of Tailoring display, the interactive Illumin-Loom, as well as the reopening of the CHAT Lounge.

Don't miss the grand debut of illuminate! Run Beyond at the brand-new Wan Chai Harbourfront Event Space (WCHES)! Showcasing the renowned 'Run Beyond' art light installation by Italian artist Angelo Bonello, WCHES will light up Hong Kong's skyline with a series of large-scale light silhouettes running, jumping, and leaping through the air in dreamlike surrealism. Visitors of all ages are welcome to visit the 65-metre-long artwork completely for free from March 29 to April 28, 3pm to 10.30pm.

Created by American architectural group Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Joyful Trees (Arbores Laetae), is an art project at Oil! featuring 16 Chinese Junipers, three of which are placed on turning planters at a 10-degree tilt. As the trees rotate, the movement channels a rhythmic rustle and evokes discourse about human’s role in nature from Anthropocene’s perspective. Planting a movable landscape, the installation also reinterprets nature as ever-changing and never static, creating an unusual artistic perspective. The three-dimensional installation can be viewed from eye level on the ground; by the adjacent pedestrian ramp; on the footbridge across the site; from the gallery window in the Oi! Glassie building; or even from the skyscrapers above. 

We’re delighted to see Sophia Hotung, one of our Future Shapers interviewees, exhibit her latest works in a solo show. Having been bedridden as a result of her autoimmune diseases, Hotung slowly began to re-explore the city’s roads, sidewalks, traffic junctions, and walkways, and was struck with inspiration one day when the song 42nd Street from the eponymous musical came up on shuffle. “It made me imagine the people around me launching into intricate tap dances or sweeping waltzes,” she says. Hotung’s 10 original artworks combine her love for musicals with her love for this city, transforming passers-by into the cast of musical theatre ensembles set against the backdrop of locations all over Hong Kong, such as the Happy Valley Racecourse, Cheung Chau, and the steps on Duddell Street. If you’re anything like us and have always wanted to randomly break out into a huge song and dance number in real life, no doubt you’ll enjoy this exhibition at Wyndham Social as well.  Read our interview with Sophia Hotung here.

Using archival materials as a starting point, this exhibition brings together new works from six groups of local artists and collectives, focusing on one specific day in Hong Kong’s past. Another Day in Hong Kong was inspired by Oscar Ho’s One Day in Hong Kong exhibition back in 1990, which collected photographs taken by Hong Kong citizens on a single day. This new show expands upon its predecessor by exploring new dimensions to capture the diverse people and events that occur within 24 hours.