Re-edit is a new and exciting showcase initiated by Hong Kong’s creative hub, PMQ, with the support from Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) as the Lead Sponsor. This exhibition aims to nurture Hong Kong design talents through introduce and showcase their works to major global platform – Milan Design Week. The exposure allows local elite talents to interact and communicate with world-class designers and design brands, resulting in cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary dialogue that will expand the creators’ horizons and elevate their design standard. Furthermore, through the local exhibition, this event also allows the general public and industry practitioners to appreciate their creativity and ingenuity. The exhibition explores and identifies the present in a close parallel with what lies behind and ahead. A contrast of materials becomes the symbol of vision and the juxtaposition of tradition and innovation, past and future, essential for attaining excellence in a constantly changing society like Hong Kong. Through the installation and 10 designs, we unite history and project, imagination and reality, desires that have been fulfilled and the continuing will to challenge rituals and norms and reinvent again and again, to design fresh forms and new adventures.
The exhibition opens with a poetic fantasy, the Bun Mountain — Bao Shan in Cantonese — created by members of the Hong Kong Interior Design Association. This is contrasted against 10 designs centred on layers of identity: from identity on a personal level — who we are, what we think, where we fit in, what we are attached to, what piques our curiosity and creativity — to industry and city status — what are our social norms, what is the relationship between fast culture and urban life, and what propels our designs into the future — shaped by language, place, community, media, technology, social and political consciousness, heritage, sustainability, craftsmanship, customs, beliefs and more. Should culture mean confidence in the critical knowledge of what is entrusted to us by the past and future? Design is the act of discovering and re-working a new sense of awareness within the constant stream of consciousness of our daily lives.
Artist Armechan, who responds to the needs and the sense of belonging of his era, has sketched out the role of people of Hong Kong entirely captivated by their tasks. Energetic, visionary Studio Ryte has designed a distinctive, inimitable stool of unusual structure, weight and dimensions. Ken Chow, a fine joiner who has chosen to devote his life to carpentry and perfecting his skills through experimentation and innovation, has made a four-drawer cabinet featuring delicate traditional and contemporary joints. Xavier Tsang, a young design entrepreneur inspired by Oriental living culture, founded his candle company to create an olfactory experience inspired by the local heritage of the Haw Par mansion. Also inspired by collective memories of Haw Par, Julie & Jesse, a ceramic artist and designer duo keen to find fresh new perspectives on disparate cultures and traditions, have created an extraordinary Ottoman-like series of mobile furniture reflecting the artificial mountains once associated with the otherworldly surroundings of the mansion. The three AaaM architects who encouraged the public to consider the overconsumption of single-use packaging materials have turned Tetra Pak beverage cartons into conical lampshades that hang from the ceiling and proudly preach the virtues of upcycling.
Multi-talented MLKK Studio, who envision socially and culturally responsible architecture, have designed benches, a much-needed amenity in both public and private settings in the fast-paced city of Hong Kong, to encourage enjoyment, interaction and exchanges in public spaces. The team at Stickyline focus on paper engineering and structural development, and have created an installation which is both a tribute to and an allegory of historic industrial handicraft design in Hong Kong. The relationship between contemporary art and textiles has been highlighted as two interwoven parts: young fashion designer Aries Sin’s installation of an imaginary seascape whose forms and colours are composed of recycled textiles in the context of the Hong Kong factories renowned for their quality and value in the ’70s and ’80s, while Zoe Siu, known for her knot-inspired accessories, reinterprets the textile mills in the heyday of the garment manufacturing industry.
Coming together is just a beginning, and I am greatly honoured and humbled to be a part of this wonderfully talented group of creatives!
