Hong Kong will take on a particularly artistic vibe this weekend as Art Basel Hong Kong comes to town for its third edition and a brand-new fair joins the cultural calendar. Tomorrow marks the debut of Art Central Hong Kong, which looks to celebrate emerging art and design talents alongside internationally recognized names.
One of Art Central’s’s most buzzed-about projects is a light installation by interior designer Joyce Wang , who has quickly gained a reputation for her residential and hospitality work, including the cabana rooms at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.
Commissioned by the crystal giant Swarovski, Wang’s latest design reveals an egg-shaped volume encasing an intricate structure composed of 60 crystal spikes and 300 crystal chatons, which together create a kaleidoscopic effect when lit.
Wang concentrated on devising a modern silhouette for her piece, which is titled Oculus and was inspired by ancient versions of a Roman and Byzantine architectural feature of the same name—a circular opening in a wall or dome that allows light to pass into an enclosed space.
“One of the biggest challenges in transforming my design from a concept into reality was understanding the sheer weight of Swarovski crystal,” explains the London- and Hong Kong–based designer, who studied at the Royal College of Art in London after completing a degree in architecture and materials science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Finding a solution that would support this weight yet still impart a feeling of weightlessness and light was a true learning experience, but I enjoy reinventing traditional concepts and like to craft narratives that beg the audience to question and interpret a space in a new way.”
Art Central Hong Kong runs March 14–16 at Central Habourfront, 9 Lung Wo Road, Central, Hong Kong; artcentralhongkongom
