Patricia Piccinini's HOPE opens at Tai Kwun Contemporary
12 May 2023, FridayTai Kwun Contemporary is excited to announce HOPE — a large-scale summer exhibition of the sculptures, paintings and moving image works by the renowned Australian artist Patricia Piccinini from 24 May to 3 September.
Best known for her hyper-realistic sculptures whose human scale and touchingly expressive features belie their non-human limbs, fins, wings and scales — cute, intriguing, grotesque — Piccinini’s vision explores the unexpected consequences of tampering with nature. Featuring more than 50 fascinatingly detailed and highly imaginative works across different media, including paintings and moving images in addition to her distinctive sculptural works, HOPE offers visitors an engrossing, perplexing and deeply touching view of a fantastical imaginary world, yet one with which we identify naturally and instinctively.
Piccinini has been featured in many highly successful exhibitions around the world, including a pavilion presentation at the Venice Biennale in 2003. While her work raises questions about scientific progress and mankind’s destructive power over nature, a resilient optimism shines through as the scale and expressiveness of her works speak of tenderness, care and empathy.
HOPE is Patricia Piccinini’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong and encompasses all of the gallery spaces of JC Contemporary. Among the largest works in the show is Celestial Fields — a vast immersive installation comprising 4,500 individual flower stems sprouting both upwards from the floor and downwards from the ceiling, drawing the visitor into its embrace where it poses questions on the nature of progress. Elsewhere, Piccinini responds to the signature spiral staircase of JC Contemporary with a 20-metre-high installation of multi-coloured wigs spun together and suspended down the void from the ceiling of the top floor.
Ultimately, much of Patricia Piccinini’s work explores the notion of interdependence: the interdependence between humans and artificial objects — such as shoes, cradles, chairs — or the interdependence between humans and other creatures. The artist is fascinated by what she calls “artificial nature”: she imagines awe-inspiring and somewhat unsettling mixtures of creatures, where humans may be combined with living beings concocted in the imagination — or in the laboratory. These “chimeras” fundamentally ask questions about how technological advances are opening new horizons, given that humanity appears to be on the cusp of being able to design and create new forms of life and new forms of living-mechanical hybrids. For the artist, this prospect triggers both hope and anxiety about the nature of progress; at the same time, the artist imagines how living with such creatures will demand love, care, and empathy — the same love and care that humanity is morally compelled to show to other living creatures we share the planet with. Visitors to HOPE will therefore not only experience the artist’s spectacular vision but will also be invited to delve more deeply into broader questions about progress, science and technology, as well as the ethics of care.
“After last year’s wildly popular Behind Your Eyelid summer exhibition, we are honoured to present another spectacularly large-scale exhibition by such a legendary artist at Tai Kwun Contemporary. Our preconceived notions about biology are challenged by Piccinini\'s works, which force us to confront the limits of genetic experimentation, technology, the arts, and, of course, humanity itself. Moreover, this exhibition reflects a longer cycle where Tai Kwun Contemporary explores the notion of ‘future bodies’ and the question of nature. HOPE will offer an artistic response — or perhaps rather than an answer, the artist poses more questions about the state of science and technology and progress in the world today,” said Tobias Berger, Curator of HOPE — Patricia Piccinini.
Timothy Calnin, Director of Tai Kwun Arts, commented, "An exhibition of the breadth, and vision of HOPE is a significant commitment for any contemporary art institution, and would have been unimaginable without the unwavering support from The Hong Kong Jockey Club and this exhibition’s Lead Sponsor Indosuez Wealth Management, We salute the Club and Indosuez for enabling Tai Kwun to bring the extraordinary art of Patricia Piccinini to Hong Kong for this summer exhibition. We are tremendously proud to bring Patricia and her studio of skilled technicians and artisans to Hong Kong and very grateful to Tobias for once again curating a stunning exhibition which we know will win fans for the artist, for contemporary art in general and for Tai Kwun. Less visible to our visitors is the outstanding behind-the-scenes work of Tai Kwun’s small but dynamic Contemporary Art team, led by Head of Art Dr Pi Li, who have once again gone above and beyond the call of duty to guarantee a wonderful experience for all visitors from the moment the gallery doors open.”
“At Indosuez, we are committed to supporting the vibrant arts and cultural landscape in Hong Kong. We believe that the arts have the unique ability to connect and inspire the communities we live and operate in, and are thrilled to be the Lead Sponsor of HOPE by Patricia Piccinini at Tai Kwun,” said Olivier Livenais, CEO, Hong Kong, at Indosuez Wealth Management.
Over the course of the exhibition, Tai Kwun Contemporary will also be hosting a wide range of public programming and educational events that dive into the deeper themes raised by Piccinini’s works, including her references to classical Greek mythology and art historical iconography, as well as broader ethical questions about science, progress, and ethics.
These include Tai Kwun Conversations: HOPE — A Dialogue between Patricia Piccinini and Tobias Berger; a series of film screenings chosen by the artist in Patricia Piccinini’s Choice; Workshop: Making of HOPE — Patricia Piccinini; Teacher’s Morning and Teacher’s Workshop; curator’s tours and other guided public tours. Of particular interest to families with children will be the Family Day events held throughout the run of the exhibition. Finally, Patricia Piccinini After Hours will be offering intimate conversations with special guests and speakers, who will chat about topics such as ethics and morality in biotech and genetics, climate crisis and extinction, and human creations of life.
HOPE will also present a small number of artist editions and merchandise in the Tai Kwun Contemporary kiosk in the gallery reception area.
Tickets to the exhibition is available on Klook. HK$60 for general tickets and HK$50 for concession tickets (Full-time students with ID, people with disabilities, and senior citizens over the age of 60).
Tickets will also be available at the JC Contemporary reception: HK$70 (general) and HK$60 (concession).
Children under the age of 5 can enjoy free admission.
Meanwhile, Tai Kwun will offer limited qualities of buy-one get-one free admission tickets exclusive to TK Fan on a first come, first serve basis.
For more details about the exhibition, various activities, and ticketing information, visit: https://qrs.ly/vsetej4
Lead Sponsor: Indosuez Wealth Management
HOPE
Artist: Patricia Piccinini
Curator: Tobias Berger
Date: 24 May to 3 September 2023
Tuesday – Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm
Monday, CLOSED
On-site: HK$70 (Adults) | HK$60 (Concession)
Online: HK$60 (Adults) | HK$50 (Concession)
About Patricia Piccinini
Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in West Africa in 1965, Patricia Piccinini grew up mainly in Australia, where her family moved in 1972. At the beginning of her artistic career, she spent a substantial amount of time in medical museums, making drawings of preserved specimens. Indeed, her works usually begin with her drawings, which then are translated by the artist and her team of technicians into three-dimensional objects. Since the 1990s, Piccinini’s work has combined the cute and the grotesque, spurring viewers to overcome a sense of revulsion and to see the beauty of all forms, however unsettling, deformed, or artificial. In 2003, Piccinini represented Australia at the Venice Biennale, and since then she has had numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world.
— End —
Editor’s notes:
Please click here to download the hi-res images with captions.
Visitor information
The entire site of Tai Kwun is open to the public daily from 8am to 11pm, while Tai Kwun Contemporary at JC Contemporary is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 8pm (closed on Mondays), and Fridays to Saturdays from 11am to 9pm.
Programme details are subject to change, so please refer to the Tai Kwun website for news and updates.
About Tai Kwun — Centre for Heritage and Arts
Tai Kwun is Hong Kong’s Centre for Heritage and Arts — a cultural destination for inspiration, stimulation and enjoyment. We aspire to offer the best heritage and arts experiences, and to cultivate knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art, performing arts and history in the community.
Tai Kwun invites all visitors on a journey of discovery that unites across multiple genres of arts, heritage, culture and lifestyle in Hong Kong. Here, visitors will discover the rich heritage of the site through the thematic exhibitions and immersive public programmes that explore Hong Kong’s history and culture, alongside a multitude of vibrant and inclusive contemporary art presentations and performing arts offerings all year round.
Opened in May 2018 and operating on a not-for-profit model, Tai Kwun is the fruition of a joint partnership between The Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Government of the HKSAR to conserve and revitalise the buildings of the historic Central Police Station compound, which represents one of the most significant revitalisation projects in Hong Kong. The site comprises three Declared Monuments of Hong Kong – the former Central Police Station, Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison – all have been meticulously conserved, with unfailing attention to authenticity. The site also includes two new buildings – JC Contemporary and JC Cube, by renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron – and several outdoor spaces – Parade Ground, Prison Yard and Laundry Steps – providing an exciting venue for the public programmes presented by Tai Kwun and its partners.
Tai Kwun, which means “big station” in Chinese, is the colloquial name used by Hong Kong people to refer to the former police headquarters and the surrounding compound. The name has been adopted as a reminder of the historical importance of this living heritage site.
In 2019, Tai Kwun received the Award of Excellence in the 2019 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. This is the highest honour of the prestigious Awards, which bestows an international recognition of the outstanding achievement in the conservation and revitalisation efforts of Tai Kwun.
For more information, please visit our website: https://www.TaiKwun.hk.