IDEA OF NEW

A group exhibition featuring 6 design groups

PMQ - Sept 2020

18.09–04.10.2020

Location : Underground Interpretation Area (Basement)

130 years ago, new ideas were introduced through the Central School standing right here. Today we revisit this place and present a group show featuring six local and overseas design units. In the same spirit of innovation, here we explore what is new.

“Idea of New” exhibition at the historical foundation remains showcases designers’ interpretations of new. New is relative to its context. New is one of the outcomes of a design process. Through the development of original design, the exploration of a better solution, or to raise a question or issue that we should look into, something new could happen. To explore the idea, the six design units from different disciplines use cultural, social and historical elements or personal experiences to create their works, each offering a unique perspective. Six creative approaches, side by side, using light as a medium to explore the idea of new and its possibilities on the historical foundation.

Dark Light

In Chinese calligraphy and type design, everything is derived from the continuous development of the form of Chinese characters, and under the influence from other cultures. This work is my interpretation of “NEW OLD. OLD NEW.” in the context of type design: “old” is the continuum of the ever-evolving Chinese characters while “new” is the way I interpret with the knowledge in contemporary society.

Dark Light is a neon light installation in the form of distorted “Hong Kong Beiwei Zansyu”, one of the most recognizable calligraphy styles in the streets of Hong Kong. Its concept is based on an introspection of the current situation of the society. Contrary to its literal meaning, the Chinese word “闇” (which means darkness) is turned into a glowing installation. To highlight the paradoxical coexistence of light and dark, the form of the character is distorted and morphs into a three-dimensional shape.

Type Designer, Graphic Designer and Musician

Adonian Chan

Graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2009, Adonian co-founded Trilingua Design with Chris Tsui in 2010. He has been researching “Hong Kong BeiWei Zansyu”, one of the most recognizable calligraphy styles in the streets of Hong Kong. In 2018, he published the book “A Study on Hong Kong Beiwei Calligraphy & Type Design” which documented the eight years of research on Hong Kong Beiwei and featured his type design works.

Hong Kong Beiwei Zansyu
Website zansyu.hk
Facebook @beiweizansyu
Instagram @zansyu

Trilingua Design
Website trilingua.hk
Facebook @trilingua.hk
Instagram @trilinguahk

Wet Paint

A big shop sign that was made using different techniques and materials. It illustrates the history of the sign making industry during its transition from hand painting to digital printing. The street signs, each possessing unique aesthetics, not only decorate the city but also display its energy and spirit.

“Wet Paint” is from a joke among the gang living along Hollywood Road together with dogs and cats.

Graphic Designer, Sign Painter

Katol

Specializes in graphic design and sign painting. From 2010-2014, Katol ran a streetwear and art concept shop in Tai Ping Shan Street called Rat’s Cave. During that time, he hosted more than 20 exhibitions and published numerous art albums under Bore Paper. In 2013, he started DBSFZ REBEL SOCIETY with Dirty Boogie and has hosted a number of music concerts until now.

Instagram @katolone

Defining the Future from Studying the Past

What has been left behind in the transition from the old to the new? How do we define “old” and “new”? History lays the foundation for the future, yet history repeats itself. So what is the future? Is “new” always better? People constantly ponder the past as well as the future, which will eventually become the present. The future is now, and it needs our imagination.

Visual Artist, Creative Director

Lau Chi Chung

Graduated from The Surrey Institute of Art & Design University College, Lau Chi Chung spent more than a decade working in the television advertising field as an art director before becoming a full-time artist. His works have been exhibited in various countries, including Festival De la Luz of Buenos Aires Argentina, Liverpool International Photography Festival and Singapore International Photography Festival, and collected by museums and private collectors. The “Landscaped Artifacts” series has gained him the New Photography Artist of the Year award at the Lianzhoufoto Festival.

Instagram @oldtextbooks

Today Tomorrow

City, prosperity, indifference.
Woods, wilderness, nature.

Light let us see what we believe; only in the dark can we see the truth.

The darker the night, the closer the dawn.

Visual Artist, Creative Director

Lio Yeung

Hong Kong visual artist and creative director. Graduated from The Chelsea College of Arts with MA Graphic Design Communication, Lio Yeung was previously a creative director in several leading advertising agencies. He founded Young & Innocent in 2012 and collaborated with brands including agnès b., Lane Crawford and Harvey Nichols. His works explore the relationship between colors and daily life, as well as the sense of time and uniqueness in visual images.

Facebook @youngninnocent
Instagram @youngninnocent @lioyeung

Synchronicity

New and old co-exist in the flux of time, where ideas from the present moment emerge and evolve. Through observing the confluence of the two, we see meanings of the signs as well as connections in between, and present them using our subjective experience and sensitivity. Everything we look for is already there, just waiting to be discovered.

Award-winning independent designer & art director

Mun Wong

Graduated from HKIVE(ST) graphic design, Mun subsequently worked for “Ming Pao Weekly”, Double XX Workshop and fashion magazine “Amoeba”. In 1997, Mun Wong joined Wing Shya’s Shya-La-La Workshop; during that time, he designed the posters for Wong Kar-wai’s iconic films: Happy Together, Eros and 2046. After switching to freelancing in 2015, he was commissioned to create key visuals for the 52nd Golden Horse Awards and the 40th and 42nd Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Instagram @wongsanmun

Dawn Particles

Dawn Particles is part of a larger body of work which we call “Ephemeral Tech”. Using real materials that engages all your senses beyond the standard visual stimuli of flat screens, projections and LED arrays, it looks to a future where technology transcends the familiar interfaces and becomes inseparable from both our built and natural environments.

The work follows the tradition of emulating nature, in the same way ancient civilizations made structures to chart the passage of the Sun or early cave paintings that depict the natural world. There is an innate human desire to use art to connect and to revere the natural systems on which our existence depends. Ephemeral Tech explores this intrinsic driver of creation using technology to evoke both primordial origins and future worlds.

Super Wide Interdisciplinary New Explorers

Studio Swine

Studio Swine (Super Wide Interdisciplinary New Explorers) is a collective established in 2011 by Japanese architect Azusa Murakami and British artist Alexander Groves, bridging rich and emotional narratives with rigorous spatial awareness. Their work straddles between the spheres of sculpture, installations and cinema, blending poetry and research into immersive experiences. The studio adopts a unique approach to each work, drawing on the distinctive resources and vernacular aesthetic of its cultural, historic and economic landscape.

Instagram @studio_swine