The WSJ reports"the old adage goes something like this: The best thing about Kowloon is the view of Hong Kong, a smug observation about the urban peninsula that enjoys panoramic views of Hong Kong island’s dramatic skyline.
But for several days this month, the opposite view across Victoria Harbour will be grabbing the attention. Two artists are taking over major landmark buildings in Kowloon, using them as backdrops for large-scale light installations".
"The first began Thursday with British artist Tracy Emin’s work “My Heart Is With You Always” emblazoning the 30-story tower of the Peninsula Hotel, which is sponsoring the piece. Inspired by her series of works rendering her own handwriting in neon, the installation is splashing the title’s words with laser lights on the building for 10 days from 7 p.m. to midnight.
And next week, German artist Carsten Nicolai, whose specialty is light and sound installations, will take control of the International Commerce Centre, the city’s tallest building. About two kilometers from the Peninsula in West Kowloon, it is visible from most points around the harbor. Mr. Nicolai’s work, commissioned by Art Basel Hong Kong, will make use of the lighted facade of the 118-story, 490-meter building—commonly called the ICC—during next week’s fair".
In an interview from his Berlin studio, Mr. Nicolai called the ICC the city’s “most striking and impressive tower.”
While the Peninsula sought out Ms. Emin, Mr. Nicolai and the Art Basel team pitched their art idea to the ICC’s management (the building is owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties ), who proved keen on the idea of surrendering control of the lights that line the tower’s length. Typically, they are programmed with seasonal displays and text to promote the observation deck.
Mr. Nicolai’s installation, “alpha pulse,” will flash for two hours over three nights, starting May 15. Rather than installing his own lights, the artist said he will simply reprogram the existing ones to pulse rhythmically. A student of the effect of frequencies on humans, Mr. Nicolai said the lights are programmed to pulse at a low frequency to elicit “more relaxing stimulations” among viewers.
The artist’s trademark is minimalist plays of light and sound. To accompany his Hong Kong installation, he designed a phone app that acts as the soundtrack. It will allow viewers to synchronize the pulsing lights with Mr. Nicolai’s hourlong electronic track simply by holding their phones up toward the tower. (The app works via the camera.)
Mr. Nicolai said he has never worked with a screen as large as the ICC, but the building—designed by American architecture firm Kohn Pederson Fox—didn’t pose problems. “The biggest challenge was the synchronicity with the sound and light,” he said. “The app was quite technical. We had a long time to brainstorm.”
Magnus Renfrew, the director of Art Basel Hong Kong, said he long thought the tower, with its rectangular face, would be an ideal canvas and targeted Mr. Nicolai as the artist for the gig. “We were looking to use the tower as a platform,” Mr. Renfrew said. “Carsten jumped out as the person for the job.”
