An annual engagement programme that explores the art of living well
Discover Taikoo Place returns with a wellbeing theme this year featuring events that promote a balanced lifestyle, supported by local and international creative talent, as well as Taikoo Place tenants.
Starting from November, Swire Properties’ Taikoo Place is hosting a lifestyle pop-up store in collaboration with plant-based grocer Green Common to offer a range of vegan products. Also part of Discover Taikoo Place is the Art Unchained live media art exhibition.
Bringing a dose of creativity to the Hong Kong community every weekday until 22 November, Art Unchained features French artist Patrick Tresset’s Human Study #1, 5RNP, a performative art installation, and two online forums on art, technology and consumerism.
Highlights
Discover Taikoo Place x Green Common pop-up store
16 November 2020 to 29 January 2021
● In keeping with the wellbeing theme of Discover Taikoo Place, the pop-up store is set to give the Hong Kong office community an innovative food and lifestyle experience. Not just a shop, it’s designed to inspire healthy living through vegan products such as its signature OmniPork series.
● The plant-based products on offer can be enjoyed in a wide variety of everyday local dishes. Try the shop’s breakfast and lunch items, as well as light bites such as OmniPork buns and sticky rice, Hong Kong-style oat milk tea and nitro cold brew oat latte.
● The store opens on Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays), with breakfast menu available from 7.30am-11.30am, and lunch menu from 11.30am-5.30pm.
Art Unchained Live media art installation and online forums
11 to 22 November 2020
● Curated by art and technology specialists Joanne Ooi, Lisa Botos and Jean-Luc Gustave, the project comprises a two-week media art installation by French artist Patrick Tresset and two lunchtime forums on art, technology and consumerism on 13 and 20 November.
● Currently residing in Belgium, Tresset has exhibited in association with major museums such as the Pompidou Centre (Paris), Prada Foundation (Milan), Tate & V&A (London), MMCA (Seoul), and Mori Art Museum (Tokyo).
● The media art installation, Human Study #1, 5RNP, features five robots sketching a human subject in 30-minute sessions.
● The robots are programmed to express different behavioural traits that mimic human characteristics such as nervousness and shyness. Some of the robots appear to take to their task with vigour while others work more slowly and seem tentative.
● Live-streamed on the Taikoo Place website during the exhibition period, the art installation operates in the manner of a performative piece. The gallery staff sets the scene by activating the robot “actors”, who come to life, perceive and draw their human model. Everything, including the sounds, lighting, behaviour of the gallery staff, human sitters and the robots, is meticulously orchestrated to bring different theatrical elements to the experience.
● For this particular project, Tresset adjusted the programming of the robots’ algorithms to recognise sitters wearing face masks. Professional sitters have been recruited for the sketching sessions at ArtisTree.
● Tresset’s work is more about human nature than technology. By showing what technology can do, it inspires the viewer to rethink the boundaries of art and humanity. Art Unchained’s aim, then, is to trigger discussion and open minds.