Esmeralda
1110
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Esmeralda

2024

Kinetic installation art, commissioned by the Peninsula Hotel

 

This large-scale work was created for The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong as part of their signature global “Art in Resonance” programme in 2024. The artwork comprises lengths of jade-coloured fabric strips or ribbons, each spanning 36 metres in length, that criss-cross from window to window over the hotel’s entrance. These ribbons appear to ebb and flow with the wind, creating an undulating effect due to being individually controlled by motorised winches.

 

Inspired by Italo Calvino’s celebrated 1972 novel Invisible Cities, specifically the watery city called Esmeralda, the artwork aims to connect with the flow of nearby water and the travellers passing by. The work presents a possible metaphor between Esmeralda’s labyrinthine layout, depicted as a zigzagging network of routes, and Hong Kong’s urban complexity.

 

Curators: Bettina Prentice, Isolde Brielmaier
Art Consultancy: Art Partners
Engineering: Prime Consulting Engineers Ltd.
Winch System: TAIT
Production: Lam Hing Lun
Lighting Designer Lee Chi Wai
Special thanks to: Jason Wong, Ting Ting, Alan, Stephanie Cheung