Choi Jeong Hwa might not yet be a household name in Hong Kong, though many will have seen the Korean artist's giant red lotus at ArtHK last May. His first solo exhibition here opened yesterday, at K11 Art Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Inspired by everyday life, Choi makes oversized objects from moulded plastics, including inflatable sculptures. "I don't make art for museums or collectors and galleries, I make it for everyone," he says. "I reference common, recognisable, bright objects. Often, I make them oversized, so children find them playful and adults can remember what it felt like to be a child."
The exhibition, titled "Love. Sweet. Life" sees three of his pieces scattered around the mall. Some beg for audience inclusion, such as Life, Life, which will be visible through a glass window to those walking through the MTR walkway. Choi will inflate and hang a series of balloons. Then, the public can choose to add theirs to the installation. Over time the balloons will deflate and fall to the ground. The artwork changes over time, without the artist's control.
Outside the mall, passers-by can see Love Me, a large inflatable pig with moving wings, who bows in greeting.
"The pig can't fly," he says. "It is stuck bowing at us. In Korea, like here, pigs symbolise wealth, fortune and luck."
The work references another of his from 1995 called About Being Irritated. "It was an inflatable robot that kept falling down, representing frustration at life, work, modern society, and our pressures."