Cities with water are always more blessed. They are where the civilization began and prospered. They give birth to poems and art that flow with the emotion of water. Two recent exhibitions in two water-blessed cities tell us that the importance of water never ceases.
Hosted in a re-christened century-old historic building in Hong Kong, “Embark! Beyond the Horizon” is a small art exhibition with different forms of water as theme. It echoes the building’s importance as the only remaining building of the original pre-reclamation 1930s North Point coastline. The exploration is multi-sensational – there are mist created by special device, video of Japan Tsunami to demonstrate the power of nature, sound art exhibit that recorded the sounds of the sea and waves from around Hong Kong.
A bit far away in the water city Venice, Aqua Alta designed by Giorgia Zanellato and Daniele Bortotto is a collection of textile, carpet, table lamp and glass that takes inspiration from the city life of Venice. “Water as transport, water as energy, water as an issue that affects the lives of citizens, leaving its mark. It deeply influences the life of this city, shaping and surrounding it with thousands of different colors and textures.” For example, they translated the color and texture of sea-water-eroded marbles into textile. Or they captured the uneven gradation of color and aspects of erosion of Venice’s marble steps in a carpet. “The intent of the collection is to translate an important and delicate issue, as an inspiration for the development of objects that fit in the contemporary living.”
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