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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.
