HKTDC’s ‘RetroInnovations’ opens at Harbour City tomorrow
22 November 2019 – Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), DesignInspire will be held next month (5-7 December) to showcase outstanding designs and award-winning projects, as well as providing creative solutions for the design industry. The three-day event is open to both trade and public visitors and is free of charge.
As a prelude to DesignInspire, the “RetroInnovations” exhibition opens tomorrow (23 November) and runs until 1 December at the Gallery by the Harbour at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Showcasing Hong Kong traditions and modern creativity
For the show, 26 young local design talents from various disciplines − including architecture, product design and accessories/fashion design − were commissioned by the HKTDC to create a series of contemporary installations under the theme “RetroInnovations”, paying tribute to the city’s cultural traditions by reinterpreting them.
During their preparations for the show, the designers experienced the essence of traditional culture and craftsmanship from the masters who helped to make Hong Kong what it is today. Architect Ming Ho said: “Traditional craftsmanship has been through a lengthy period of evaluation and accumulated wisdom, which can inspire today’s designers to explore new creative directions.” Designer Benny Lee said that he “draws inspiration from local traditions” and wanted to use traditional craftsmanship to build a connection between his artwork and the audience.
Visitors to the exhibition are invited to interact with the installations and experience the ingenious way that cultural traditions have been reimagined into modern design pieces.
DesignInspire opens next month
The third edition of DesignInspire runs under the theme “Co-create Sustainable Cities”, aiming to promote the sustainable development of the urban environment and pay heed to the importance of preserving aspects of traditional culture.
The “Hong Kong Creative Force” pavilion, sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a campaign to raise public awareness of local creative talents. Young Hong Kong designers are given the opportunity to promote their innovative creations to local and overseas visitors, using the platform to connect with the local business sector and international markets. The pavilion will showcase the design projects of 131 designers and 12 local institutions, featuring art installations that take inspiration from Hong Kong’s traditional handicrafts.
A series of interactive events will be arranged for visitors during the event that aim to promote design and innovative thinking. They include various talks plus STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and design workshops. Visitors can also buy design products from a pop-up store at the event. DesignInspire is open to the public, with free admission over all three days.
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RetroInnovations Roadshow |
DesignInspire |
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Date: 23 Nov-1 Dec 2019 |
Date: 5-7 December 2019 |
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Venue: Gallery by the Harbour, Level 2, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui |
Venue: Halls 3DE, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre |
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Time: 11am-10pm |
Time: 5-6 Dec: 9:30am-7pm 7 Dec: 9:30am-6:30pm |
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Admission: Free |
Admission: Free |
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Exhibit: Clang-go Clang-go Music Wheel Designer: Po-fung Chan
“Clang-go Clang-go Music Wheel” provides a way to resonate with the audience through an intriguing copper creation. The melodious and harmonious sounds created by the piece aim to bring people closer together in a playful way. |
Exhibit: Folding Street Designer: Rice Mok
Inspired by the traditional folding paper lantern, “Folding Street” illustrates the theme behind Hong Kong’s street names. The spinning paper lantern is like a never-ending road, letting us experience the unique charm of the Hong Kong landscape from a brand-new angle. |
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Exhibit: The Sleepless Playground Designer: Lo Yat-ming
“The Sleepless Playground" shows the unique beauty of Hong Kong's neon lights by using different fonts and graphic elements, representing a wide range of Hong Kong industries and the city’s diverse 24-hour lifestyle – just like a sleepless playground. |
Exhibit: Mahjong Table Designer: Anya Wu
Mahjong is a part of Cantonese life, and the carvings on the tiles represents the core ethics and traditional aesthetics of Chinese culture – “harmony in diversity”. “Mahjong Table” is a place for people to gather and incorporates all the mahjong elements that represent the fun and beauty of traditional Cantonese culture – and the source of happy memories. |
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Exhibit: A Sheet of Stool Designer: Aron Tsang, Wesley Ho
A number of modern designers seek to incorporate local metal-making techniques to create objects that fit into a contemporary context. Making use of a whole piece of metal without any wastage, “A Sheet of Stool” was cut using simple machinery. |
Exhibit: OO BLOCK TOWER Designer: Kenrick Wong, Magic Kwan
“OO BLOCK TOWER” is made up of blocks of words and letters created by light and shadow that can be touched and seen. The designers combine English letters and Chinese characters into unique “Hong Kong words”. The stacking and configuration of the blocks enable the public to discover different combinations of Chinese and English words from the “tower”. |
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Exhibit: Almond Biscuit Playset Designer: Agnes Hung, Benny Lee, Paul Mui
The making of almond biscuits is one of Hong Kong’s most delicious traditional crafts, and the wooden biscuit mould was a forerunner to the mass production of today’s food industry. This installation is a miniature of a modular playset made from almond biscuits. Visitors are invited to design their own playset, enjoying the texture and aroma of the traditional biscuits at the same time. |
Exhibit: The Spotted Blue Butterfly Designer: June Lau
Using a uniquely Hong Kong motif, the spotted blue butterfly, the designer also employs pankou – the traditional Chinese knotting technique – in this interactive installation. Pankou represents a unique connection between mother and daughter through its knot, while the growth of a butterfly symbolises a child following her mother’s footsteps into womanhood. |
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Exhibit: CAGE Designer: Sara Lee
The installation has two elements – a cage and a tree. Half of the cage is made from ceramic with a blue and white underglaze in the pattern of a lying bird. Another part of the cage is made from bamboo, with a ceramic bird heart hanging inside – left behind by a bird that flew away, yearning for its freedom. The bird has found its freedom, perched on the branch of the wire tree. |
Exhibit: Kaleidoscope Designer: Bowie Choi
This art installation is a kaleidoscope created using traditional crafts, which encourages people to preserve traditional culture and wisdom through hand-woven rattan baskets, steamers and traditional lanterns – with the help of modern technology. |
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Exhibit: A roll of chair Designer: Zoe Siu
The designer used Chinese knotting as her design language to create a Chinese knotted chair – somewhere between 2D and 3D – called “Macrame”. The knotted chair forms an illusion that makes it unclear whether you can sit on the chair or not. |
Exhibit: Cabinet T Designer: Dennis Cheung
“Have a cup of tea!” is a phrase that kicks off a warm dialogue. The tea cabinet aims to bring people together. It is designed to be carried to the sofa or at the dining table. It is openable on all four sides and serves as a mini-showcase for the tea collection. |
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Exhibit: Moonlight Capsule Designer: Dylan Kwok
“Moomlight Capsule” takes you back to the past. Decorated with brass elements, this hand-crafted tin box contains sets of classic board games including the dice game seen in the classic Hong Kong film, God of Gamblers, and a vintage Chinese checkers set that reflects foreign views of China. |
Exhibit: Tricolor of Hong Kong Designer: Ming Ho
The Red-white-blue (RWB) carry bag symbolises Hong Kong spirit of “Adapting, Dedicating and Perseverance”. This exhibit aims to reimagine the symbolic RWB fabric and utilise its characteristics to create a new, flexible and durable piece of furniture that bridges the past, present and future of Hong Kong. |
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Exhibit: Aroma Prophecy Designer: Johnny Lo, Max Cheng, Valerie Ko, Cheryle Wong
“Aroma Prophecy” is a portable interactive art installation that combines traditional incense making with Chinese fortune sticks. A three-sided wooden cabinet is designed to showcase the raw materials, explaining the function and story of each incense type and giving a prediction for your future. |
Exhibit: See-Through Jadeite Designer: Eddy Tam
The designer invited his father, a local jadeite craftsman, to cooperate on this project. By combining his father’s professional skills with the designer’s knowledge in the design and optical fields, they successfully overcame the challenge to create ultra-thin pieces of jadeite with a thickness of just 1mm. |
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Exhibit: The World’s Leaders Designer: Carey Ip
Coins have been used as a means of exchange for millennia. Each coin takes its own journey and forms its own interesting story. Inspired by the design of coins around the world, the designer has created an installation called “The World’s Leaders” that uses traditional jewellery-making techniques to extract portraits of world leaders from old coins. |
Exhibit: Seal Designer: Hidy Lam
The idea behind this artwork is to use traditional flower-drying techniques to preserve recycled flowers. The dried flowers are sealed in resin, with the handmade galvanized iron mailbox used as a vase to form a clock, representing the preservation of love and blessings. |
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Exhibit: Canton Treasure Designer: Dixon Ngan
In order to restore the history and craftsmanship of hand-painted porcelain, the designer reimages the grandeur and opulence of traditional porcelain art through an illuminated installation that pays respect to the beauty of Cantonese porcelain. |
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Media enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC's Communications and Public Affairs Department:
Coco Yuen Tel: (852) 2584 4145 Email: coco.hc.yuen@hktdc.org
About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via trade publications, research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus.