Blue Cockatoo Traveller: Inflatable Stonehenge

Jeremy Deller, Sacrilege, Greenwich, 2012

Courtesy of Art Concept, Paris and The Modern Institute/Toby Webster Ltd, Glasgow. Photo: Jeremy Deller

West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

Full size inflatable Stonehenge arrives in West Kowloon for Mobile M+: Inflation!

23 April 2013, Hong Kong: M+ announced today that Sacrilege, a full size inflatable replica of one of the world’s most famous monuments, Stonehenge, will be unveiled in Hong Kong as part of Mobile M+: Inflation!, opening 25th April 2013 (Press Preview 10.30am 24th April 2013). The interactive work, which visitors can bounce on, was created by Turner Prize-winning British artist Jeremy Deller. A co-commission between Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art and the Mayor of London, Sacrilege first appeared in Glasgow before touring major cities across Britain as part of London 2012 Festival.

Sacrilege will be placed alongside five other giant inflatable sculptures by local and international artists, including two new commissions created especially for the exhibition by Hong Kong based artist Tam Wai Ping and Chinese artist Cao Fei. The six works will be accompanied by a performance piece by Tomás Saraceno (Argentina) which will be staged on 4 and 25 May and 8 June 2013.

Alongside the five other works, Sacrilege will take advantage of the promenade on West Kowloon, the future site of the West Kowloon Cultural District, with an iconic view out over Victoria Harbour. The installation, with inflatable moss covered slabs at over 7m high, and a 35m wide fake green grass base will offer a stark contrast to Hong Kong’s heavily urbanized environment. It’s placement on the site of The Park, creates a fantasy landscape within the city upon the evolving site of West Kowloon.

By re-presenting one of the world’s most famous existing prehistoric monuments and sites of cultural

significance as an inflatable sculpture Deller allows audiences to reacquaint themselves with history in a high-spirited and entertaining manner, whilst exploring cultural heritage.

Monumental artworks of this scale have never been presented alongside one another in Hong Kong, making “Mobile M+: Inflation!” one of the largest contemporary art exhibitions ever mounted in the city to date. The exhibition will be presented on the site of the Park at West Kowloon Cultural District - a fourteen hectare site devoted to arts programming next to M+, Hong Kong’s future museum for visual culture.

Inflation! is a part of Mobile M+, a series of pre-opening ‘nomadic’ exhibitions curated by M+ that aim to engage the public ahead of the opening of the museum, scheduled for completion in late 2017. By initiating and realising projects that would not be possible in a single museum building, Mobile M+ seeks to turn the perceived disadvantage of being “rootless” into a strategic advantage by organizing events that embrace a multi-

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of on-site events ranging from artist talks, workshops, guided tours to performances.

Lars Nittve said, “I am delighted that the M+ team have been able to secure this incredibly important piece of contemporary art for Hong Kong residents to enjoy. The work was enormously popular when it toured the UK last year, and I can’t wait to see the Hong Kong public’s response. Sacrilege will offer residents a unique experience of interactive public sculpture - hopefully stimulating debate about the kind of works which might be on show in The Park once it opens in 2014. Sacrilege challenges ideas about how art should be displayed and experienced, aligning with M+’s commitment to presenting art in a new dynamic way. Works of art can no longer be classified into fixed genre; which is why M+ will be a museum for visual culture in all its forms. This piece also reflects our commitment to bringing groundbreaking artworks to Hong Kong, as well as supporting local artists.”

Mobile M+: INFLATION!

Tues – Thurs: 12pm to 7pm

Press Preview: Wednesday 24th April, 10.30am

Fri – Sun: 11am to 8pm

Closed Mondays

During Art Basel Hong Kong: 10am – 8pm

Free of charge

Venue: West Kowloon Cultural District Promenade

Sutton PR Asia

Email: tamsin@suttonprasia.com / phoebe@suttonprasia.com

M+

A centrepiece of Hong Kong's future West Kowloon Cultural District, M+ is the new museum for visual culture, encompassing 20th and 21st century art, design, architecture and the moving image from Hong Kong, China, Asia and beyond. From its vantage point in one of the world's most dynamic regions, M+ seeks, through its exhibitions, programming and permanent collection, to document the past, inform the present and contribute to the future of visual culture within an ever more interconnected global landscape. With the ultimate aim of exploring new ways of seeing, the museum will take a multidisciplinary approach that both challenges and respects existing boundaries while creating a meeting point for a diversity of perspectives, narratives and audiences. M+ has already embarked on a number of public programs and exhibitions, and has begun to assemble its permanent collection, in the run-up to the planned 2017 opening of its 62,000 square-meter (670,000 square-feet) building overlooking Victoria Harbour. M+ will be responsible for integrating and curating art within the park design.