This weekend I visited the annual Hong Kong Art Fair at the Wan Chai Convention and Exhibition Center. The popular event was overflowing with an incredible array of art and interesting people to watch. I spent hours wandering aimlessly through the exhibits (except when we were on a mission to find the Ai Weiwei display). This walking tour is a series of pictures from the two exhibition halls in no particular order.
This was the machine band, attracting attention and making music through a series of automated currents.
I thought this one was beautiful, although I would have found it just as nice without the piles of wood chips.
There was a rhino and a dinosaur in at least three different locations around the fair, and we may have spotted a fourth.
The people-watching was just as much fun as looking at the art.
These lumps were actually very beautiful up close.
The charcoal and burlap lambs were less beautiful, but an adorable two-year-old spent about five minutes trying to pet them despite his dad's efforts to keep him away.
This is Hong Kong, so of course the commercial opportunities were not wasted.
This was one of the only displays you could walk on. That white stuff is salt.
The skinned rubber animals breathed. I jumped the first time I noticed.
This is the Ai Weiwei piece. The outside had responses to repeated letters from Ai Weiwei to the Chinese government about earthquake relief and information (or the lack thereof).
The inside had the names of the earthquake's victims.
This piece reminded me of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
We spotted lines of kindergartners traipsing around on leashes. I caught them when they were drawing pictures of the art.
We came upon a "Guerrilla Talk" but the crowds prevented us from hearing much of what the artist was saying.
This giant flower opened and closed, but unfortunately you couldn't climb on it.
Can you tell what this display is made of?
This was my first year at the HK Art Fair, but I will definitely go back next year. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of what I saw.
Note: I didn't see any signs or notices in the brochure warning against taking pictures. I apologize to the artists if we weren't supposed to do it.
What a great fair. It's so nice when contemporary art comes to Hong Kong. I remember missing that when I lived there and feeling excited and relieved to go to a modern art museum in Taipei after my first 7 months in Hong Kong. Of course, the art scene in HK has changed much since then, but it's always great to have different options and venues.
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