Asian artists make Tai Kwun Artists’ Night in Hong Kong a feast for the senses with a mix of sonic and visual experiences
- Chinese artist Pan Daijing headlines with a video installation and rock sculptures, as the annual Hong Kong event teams up with Art Basel for the first time
- Java duo Senyawa invite visitors to play instruments made from farm tools, while Hong Kong’s Vaevae Chan Ka-yung and South Africa’s Lhola Amira also feature
Sensory overload is the best way to describe this month’s Artists’ Night at Tai Kwun, the heritage arts centre in Hong Kong’s Central neighbourhood.
Spotlighting three Asian artists, Thursday’s event will also feature a special appearance by South Africa’s Lhola Amira.
Showcasing Tai Kwun’s contemporary art and performing arts departments, this year’s event also marks its first collaboration with Art Basel Hong Kong for invitation-only musical performances.
With its public programme, exhibitions and curated events, Tai Kwun has long supported “young and emerging artists from multidisciplinary backgrounds”, says Artists’ Night curator Louiza Ho Yuen-yu.
“They each have unique characteristics that will bring different music genres, performance styles and installations to the audience,” says Ho.
Headliner Pan, an artist and composer, known for pushing the boundaries of sound and form, will show her video installation The Hour Between Dog and Wolf, shot in Hong Kong in 2021.
The video work is accompanied by Chan’s new “seating installation”, comprising artificial rocks that resemble a huge, hand-like mountain growing out of the floor. Visitors can rest on the sculptures while watching Pan’s video.
Exploring tribal and primitive sounds, Senyawa’s live installation, on view at F Hall Studio, invites visitors to interact with the Indonesian duo’s musical instruments made of natural raw materials and farming tools.
The interactions will be relayed into sounds and wall projections, transforming organic instrument manipulation into “digital voices and visuals”, says Ho. “It’s also a reflection on humanity’s role within nature in our digital expansion.”
The small and intimate session is referred to as an “appearance” and not a “performance”, out of respect for the indigenous South African Nguni tribe’s concepts of generational trauma, ancestral connections and ecological grief.
Ho says to expect different levels of energy, from a calm, spiritual vibe to a dark and intense sonic presentation.
The invitation-only events include Malaysian filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang’s two-hour theatre performance The Monk from Tang Dynasty; Hong Kong-born DJ Xiaolin’s acid house, electro and techno set; an audiovisual concert by Pan; and a musical performance, Vajranala, by Senyawa.
Artists’ Night, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central. March 28, 6pm to 11.30pm. Free of charge and partly invitation-only.
