Civic pride

IF YOU'RE LOOKING for an artistic argument, go down to Hong Kong City Hall. You can't miss that 10-metre-tall inflatable thing above the main entrance of its Lower Block. Some people say it's a hare, others a dog or a boar. Whatever it is, or its artistic merit, this blow-up piece of public art is a jolly good wheeze in the breeze.

For the record, the work is a pneumatic pooch. Hung Yi's Flower-Patterned Doggie Thrill is one of the 28 over-sized works by 15 Taiwanese and two local artists in the me2 show organised by Taiwan Fubon Art Foundation (TFAF).

Exhibition curator Oscar Ho Hing-kay says there are many facets to this presentation of Taiwan's contemporary art, which also includes the contributions of 200 Hong Kong children aged from 10 to 12.'There's little international opportunity of exposure for Taiwan artists, but there's a lot of interest [in them],' says Ho, citing the TFAF-sponsored Very Fun Park event at the Hong Kong Arts Centre in 2000.

Hong Kong can play a significant role in the publicity of Taiwanese contemporary art, says the independent curator and professional consultant with the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. And having already curated a show of the island's works in Perth, Ho says he's keen to raise the profile of Taiwanese artists at me2, which runs until the end of this month.

The event presents works by artists such as Hung Yi, Liu Ding-zan and Yu Wen-fu, whose Words of Bamboo by the Harbour includes the contributions from all those local secondary school children.

Local artists Mark Liu and Ho Yuen-leung also worked with a large group of primary-school students to make the large paper-mache mascots that are displayed at various open venues across the city.

The exhibition highlights the importance of public art in Hong Kong, says Ho.

'Public art and putting art in a public space are two different things,' he says. 'The former involves a degree of study and research into the art, the space and their relationship. The latter is just showing something in public. This show is public art.'

Ho says the furore over the Star Ferry clock tower's demolition highlights how art can be integrated into public space, and give it meaning. He says it was ironic that on one side of Edinburgh Square people were campaigning to save their heritage while on the other his team installed works that would be taken down after their temporary showing.

But the me2 exhibits were sufficiently big to ensure that they weren't lost in Central's imposing skyline, Ho says. People don't go out of their way to see public art, as they might at museum shows, so the works must blend with the space and the public.

'Each space has its own character and you don't want to put something there that doesn't match with the environment,' the curator says. 'If you do, the result could be offensive, if not brutal because you are basically violating that space.'

The messages in Hung's A Cup Filled with Blessings, the naivety of Juby Chou's Fuzzy Rabbits Always Appear in Joyful Times, and the vitality of the Mogu Sculpture Series seem appropriate for the weddings at City Hall, he says.

'You don't want to put something inauspicious there,' Ho says. The me2 exhibits try to bridge the gap between public and contemporary art, the curator says.

'Contemporary art has always been an elitist activity, and people don't like it because it humiliates them,' says Ho.

Referring to the exhibition as a wall-less museum and an art carnival, the curator says that in Hong Kong, 'artists have to go through many barriers to become an artist. Being an artist becomes a mission to resist many things. Art becomes too serious, even tragic.'

'I hope this show demonstrates that art can be simple, delightful and lovable. There's nothing wrong with just feeling good,' Ho says.

me2 Contemporary Public Art Exhibition. City Hall, until Jan 15; Fubon Bank Building, 38 Des Voeux Rd Central. Ends Feb 28