A space for us
Two public institutions will make a splash on the arts scene this month, with the launch of the Oi! exhibition gallery and the Open Dialogue series at the Musem of Art
THE PRIVATE SECTOR and the French always hog the limelight in May. There’s art fair week, Christie’s auctions and the lavish, yearly celebration of Gallic culture that is Le French May. But this year public institutions are also making their mark on the art-packed month, with two promising exhibitions.
Four artists make up the inaugural exhibition at Oi!, the new public art space at the faithfully restored cluster of red-brick buildings on Oil Street in North Point, formerly home to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and a pioneering art village. Established in 1998, the village lasted just two years until the tenants were evicted by the government.
The timbre of the new Exhibition is decidedly wistful, notwithstanding the jaunty title, “Embark! Beyond the Horizon”.
Local multimedia artist Cédric Maridet, taking his lead from the buildings’ origins, will install four intricately designed turntables playing records of sounds from the sea, while radio equipment collected from around Hong Kong will be used to cast shadows onto the 105-year-old walls.
To denote the transience of memories, Maridet will use special records which gradually decay. “The idea is to put back sounds that used to be here, ghost sounds that have stayed with the buildings. I am putting back something intangible and ephemeral, building new on old. It’s all about the transformative power of art,” he says.
Mainland artist Yuan Gong will add to the otherworldly ambience by shrouding visitors in vapour. It is a nod to the Chinese concept of qi, which can be translated as air, but also means a force which binds all lives together. The intention is to invite community engagement and reflection on the solitary nature of individuals at sea in an often confusing world, Gong says, as the audience move uncertainly through the mist.