Here some snapshots of the Exhibition ‘Aging Dragons’ that was connected to the urban planners conference ‘Beyond Big Plans’ in Seoul this month.
The exhibition was all about post-growth of the big developed Asian cities like Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo. The ‘Hong Kong – Boring City’ research project that I’m working on together with Inge Goudsmit was part of it.
New updates available about The Boring City research project (a project I started last year together with architect and friend Inge Goudsmit). After various publications and lectures by Inge in december and january, we were invited to contribute some of our materials to a very exciting exhibition that kicks off next month in Seoul, connected to the ‘Beyond Big Plans’ symposium for urban planners: ‘Aging Dragons’.
It’s an exhibit about post-growth prospects of the well-developed Asian cities Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Our part will focus on the effects of the boring city and hyper-efficiency in Hong Kong’s housing estates like social distance, segregations and lack of upward mobility. We’re working on the panels as we speak. Keep you posted. And… if you happen to be in Seoul… take a snapshot for me:).
Loved to work with the Urban Discovery team on this Exhibition at the RICS Heritage Conservation Conference. Heritage conservation in Hong Kong is a challenge which generates strong views in the community and presents a range of interesting issues. I made the design (in close cooperation with Lisette van Rijn and Grace Lee) of these exhibition-panels. Each one evaluates the re-use of a particular heritage buildings in Hong Kong.
Some Revitalisation concept are super cool. My personal favourite: a resettlement housing estate that turned into a hostel (Mei Ho House). After the conference, the exhibition will be relocated to Blue House in Wan Chai so you can check out all the fascinating stories and struggles that are connected to Hong Kong’s most fascinating urban renewal projects.
Some projects are so lovely to work on that you hate to finish them. End of this summer I worked on the catalogue and exhibition-printwork / window stickers for a very special exhibition called Parisian Zoo. It was a 2 week event all about vintage animal jewellery organised by the experts of Palais Royal in Hong Kong.
For the catalogue I used the idea of an old-fashioned zoo with different sections. Every page had a different product-photo and each time a different section/text-box was filled with details. It was really a pleasure to work with these art and design loving people:)
The little black dress, the Chanel suit and Chanel No.5… all items are still part of today’s universal fashion vocabulary. But it’s not only those objects that are fascinating parts of ‘The Chanel Legend’ exhibition i’ve been to this weekend. Coco Chanel’s extraordinary life is also highlighted in the Gemeente Museum in The Hague. Her quotes like: ‘A woman is closest to being naked when she is well-dressed’ and ‘Life didn’t please me, so I created my life’, are embedded in a complete black and white setting.
The designs of Coco Chanel unchained a revolution in the way woman dressed in the 20th century. I love the brand, I love the heritage and I also love this exhibition!
Gemeente Museum Den Haag, The Netherlands, till 2nd of February. (Did you know that precisely one year ago I did a little job for Chanel, I was so excited!). If you’re interested, check out this post).
Last weekend we visited a lovely little photo-exhibition about Hong Kongs old shop-houses (tong lau’s). The archetype shop-house is the oldest house-form found in a trading city. And in turn they are shaped by the city as well! The shop-houses also influence people’s experience of streets. The photo’s showed various shop-houses and documented the life of the owners who run their businesses in Sham Shui Po, a famous working class area in Hong Kong.
You can visit the exhibition till 31st of August in the Western District Community Center (36A Western Street)… a beautiful historic building that used to be a maternity hospital. I had an awesome afternoon in the Sai Yin Pun area and even found some new amazing coffee places like Metropolitain and La Rotisserie that I will use more often in the future to meet people or get some work done;-).
This week I visited a small but beautiful photography exhibition. Derrick Chang documented the story of the last traditional tofu-maker of Lantau island: Mok Kau-moon. He captured very well, how the old man loved his trade and struggled with changes that were almost forced upon him by modern life. Mok Kau-moon for example didn’t want to raise the prices of his tofu because that would change his routine too much;-). Cute but also tragic in a way, for he could barely make ends meet. A touching story.
The exhibition can be visited till 26th of July, Voxfire Gallery, 1/f 52 Gage str. Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.
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