Art Experiment

Last night, I went to a fun and funky “art experiment” at a place called Experimenta. I replied to a small ad in Hong Kong’s version of a city paper. The ad was quite vague simply asking for volunteers to participate in an art experiment. The “experience” started at a Victorian-styled tea shop where I was served blueberry yogurt flavored tea and was given a brief history of the project by one of the owners of Experimenta. I was also given a business card that was primarily blank, on which, I was encouraged to write down any nouns that popped into my head during the evening. Next, I was taken to the small gallery and sat in a tiny loft. I was shown 2 art films by a well regarded artist and professor in Hong Kong. The strange part was the TV was mounted to the ceiling with the screen facing the floor so I had to look up to watch it. The whole “experience” was carefully choreographed by an aspiring curator.

It is hard to describe the first film which lasted about 25 minutes. It had very little dialog. The film showed several women filmed in different years and how each woman knew one of the other women. There were scenes of major life events such as weddings, as well as, simple, daily life activities. I really liked how the different scenes were interspersed with very quick snapshots of other scenes which reminded me of how I think and how memories pop into my head. The second film was short and more straight forward showing chairs.

After the films, I was served wine and had a lovely chat with the co-owner about my thoughts on the films, my life, and my beliefs about various topics, mostly women’s issues. The interviews of the participants are being collected for another art project. I was very impressed by the co-owner’s transition from a career in banking to a gallery owner.

It was a fascinating and different way to spend and evening. Here is the website which explains the “experience” better. Scroll down to “Part 2”.

http://www.experimenta-space.net/