Living Art, Inspired Curiously By Wine, At The Most Iconic Hotel In Hong Kong

Lachlan Turczan's Harmonic Resonance is a kinetic sculpture providing a hypnotic, meditative exploration of visible sound. The work features a parabolic mirror measuring over 5 feet on diameter, which encloses a shallow pool of water, where low-frequency infrasonic tones allow the artist to choreograph oscillating patterns to form on the water's surface. Lachlan told me he doesn’t fully understand his art until he sees it through the eyes of others (humanity), as well as through water and light in an intuitive way - and he always looks to nature as a guide. It took him over 10 years learning to use water as a medium, using sound and vibration. Hong Kong's proximity to water was a strong influence on his piece. As you look into the artwork, the lights are caught on the's water surface which is an incredible byproduct of the architecture and design. “The same way an opera singer can shatter a wine glass by hitting the resonance of the glass, I am playing with the resonance of the installation bowl,” says Lachlan.

Kingsley Ng's Esmeralda is a monumental kinetic installation created expressly for the hotel's iconic forecourt. The piece takes its title from Italo Calvino's celebrated 1972 novel Invisible Cities: a meditation on culture, memory, truth, past and present. undulates between the physics of gravity and the buoyancy of air. The colossal work allowed the artist to evoke the ephemeral ocean tides that have brought travelers to Hong Kong from all over the world for centuries. As a known local artist, Ng famously showed an art project in Hong Kong's sewer. HKG has flooding issue, and a large underground tank was built. In 2018 he created art to highlight and showcase the space, giving shine to workers who do quietly and passionately do their work behind closed doors, without getting due appreciation.

Originally commissioned in 2019, Elise Morin's SOLI was significantly expanded for the Hong Kong exhibition. Morin's multidisciplinary studio practice fuses science, art, and technology as she continues her exploration of landscape as a genre. The sculpture—made from thousands of obsolete CDs, each industrially pulverized according to their security grade—is reminiscent of the resplendent palaces of her native France, but instead offers a quiet commentary on the material burden of waste. Morin remarked on “offering the artwork a social life, "when asked the difference between showing an artwork for a gallery, versus a commission for a non-traditional exhibition space, like a hotel or private residence. It creates a social interaction that artwork may not have otherwise. Morin's studio is in the French wine region of Burgundy, where she admittedly works to the inspiration of local natural wines, made by friends of hers that also host a yearly wine festival.

The exhibition artworks will remain at The Peninsula Hong Kong through May 17th, after which they will be displayed at other Peninsula Hotel properties, and joined by additional, newly commissioned installations from local artists. For the duration of the exhibit, The Peninsula Hong Kong will offer visitors free access to all pieces, as well as guided tours and activities that further illuminate the city's vibrant art scene, best enjoyed with a glass of wine in hand.