Antony Gormley: Event Horizon Hong Kongnow in bookshops
#LookUpHK #EventHorizonHK #AntonyGormley #BritishCouncilHongKong #K11ArtFoundation
10 March 2016 (HONG KONG) – British Council is delighted to announce that the book Antony Gormley: Event Horizon Hong Kong, with a specially commissioned text by Ackbar Abbas is now in bookshops. The book gives an in-depth look into Event Horizon in Hong Kong with stunning photographs of British artist Antony Gormley’s 31 sculptures installed across the city’s Central and Western district.
‘Congratulations on producing such a wonderful book to mark and commemorate Event Horizon in Hong Kong. I particularly love the concluding statement that "Event Horizon feels most at home in Hong Kong," said Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, GBS, JP, Chief Secretary for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Author Ackbar Abbas describes how Antony Gormley’s project resonates with Hong Kong people and how it can change the perception of public art in the city. As Abbas puts it, ‘Gormley’s work is critical and reflexive, but it is not judgmental. It does not take the form of a critique that argues that something is true or false, but the form of a demonstration that like an experiment, shows us that the way things are is not the only way; it can be otherwise. Is that what these silent figures installed on Hong Kong’s roof tops with their gaze fixed on distant horizons are demonstrating, the possibility that things can be otherwise?’Antony Gormley: Event Horizon Hong Kong is the most extensive public art installation ever seen in the city. The project launched on 19 November 2015 and will continue to be a part of the Hong Kong cityscape until 18 May 2016. Event Horizon offers people in Hong Kong a chance to see and interact with a world-renowned art project and to delight in the compliment paid to Hong Kong as ‘the Asian city of choice for the arts’ – changing the face of contemporary art in the city and paving the way for more public art.
‘One of the aims of Event Horizon Hong Kong has been to encourage dialogue about the role of public art in the city through the example of Antony Gormley’s extraordinary work presented in public spaces’, said Robert Ness, Director of British Council Hong Kong. ‘We have seen many people appreciating the art, taking pictures phone-in-hand. We have also observed citizens creating their own videos as they and others reacted to and with the sculptures. We’re delighted that the installation has generated such interesting discussion and debate, and relieved that it has been so overwhelmingly positively received’.
Adrian Cheng, Founder and Honorary Chairman of the K11 Art Foundation and lead partner of Event Horizon added: ‘Amidst the transformations of art in Hong Kong over the past few years, public art remains an arena to be energised. We are extremely proud to have the opportunity of partnering with Antony Gormley and the British Council Hong Kong to facilitate and indeed initiate a fundamental shift in the way the public perceives public art, transforming the ecosystem with tremendous positive impact’.
Antony Gormley concludes, ‘I am thrilled to be doing this project with the vibrant community of Hong Kong and am delighted with the support it has received, and hope that it will be a positive contribution to the cultural and artistic life of Hong Kong’.
Antony Gormley: Event Horizon Hong Kong
Text by Ackbar Abbas
Photography by Oak Taylor-Smith
Publisher: The British Council, Hong Kong, 2016
Dual language: English and Cantonese
Hardback; 128 pp.
225 x 150 mm
ISBN 978-962-7450-00-9
Price: HKD200
The book is available for purchase at the following bookshops across the city:
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Bookstore
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Store address
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Store contact no.
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Bookazines
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1
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Discovery Bay
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Shop G12, G/F, DB North Plaza, Discovery Bay, Lantau Island
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2987 1373
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2
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IFC Mall
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Shop 3012, Podium Level Three, IFC Mall, 1 Harbour View Street, Central
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2813 2770
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3
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Oriental Commercial Building
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Shop 1, G/F., Oriental Commercial Building, 46 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central
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2970 3138
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4
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Repulse Bay
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G/F, Shop 107C-D,The Repulse Bay Arcade, 109 Repulse Bay Road, Repulse Bay
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2750 1136
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5
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One Exchange Square
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Shop 305-307, One Exchange Square, Central
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2542 1133
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6
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Landmark Prince`s
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Shop 326-328, 3/F., Landmark Prince's, 10 Chater Road, Central
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2522 1785
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7
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Pacific Place
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Shop 4, Level B3, Three Pacific Place, 1 Queen's Road East
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2997 3018
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8
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Shui On Centre
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Shop 117, Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
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2802 4932
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Publisher and partner
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9
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K11 design stores
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Shop 105, 110 & 111, 1/F., K11, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
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3110 5898
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10
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British Council bookstore
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G/F., 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty
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Others
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11
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Asia Society Hong Kong Center
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9 Justice Drive, Admiralty
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2103 9573
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12
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Continental Book Store
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2/F., Duke of Wellington House, 14 Wellington Street, Central
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2526 9215
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13
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Dymocks Discovery Bay
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Shop 104b, 1/F., Block A, DB Plaza, Lantau Island
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2914 2133
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14
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Dymocks Sai Kung Kidnapped
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G/F., & Cockloft, 7 Man Nin Street, Sai Kung
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2791 9110
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15
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Hong Kong Book Center
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Basement, Ho Lee Commercial Bulding, 38-44 D'aguilar Street, Central
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2522 7064
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16
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Hong Kong Maritime Museum
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Central Ferry Pier 8, Central
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3713 2500/ 3713 2526
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17
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Kelly & Walsh
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Shop 204, Two Pacific Place, Admiralty
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2522 5743
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18
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Metro Books - Elements
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Shop 2001B, Level 2, Elements Mall, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui
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2196 8770
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19
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Metro Books - Time Square
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Shop 927, 9/F., & Shop A, 9/F., Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay
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2154 1337
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20
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Metro Books - K11
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Shop Nos 307-309, Level 3, K11, No 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
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2362 4728
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21
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Swindon Book Co.
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G/F., 13-15 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
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2366 8309
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About the Author
Ackbar Abbas is currently Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, USA. Previously, he taught for many years at Hong Kong University. His publications include Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997), and numerous essays on contemporary Chinese art, cinema, urbanism and ‘posthumous socialism’.
About Antony Gormley
Antony Gormley’s work has been widely exhibited throughout the UK and internationally with exhibitions at Forte di Belvedere, Florence (2015); Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern (2014); Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia (2012); Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2012); The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (2011); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2010); Hayward Gallery, London (2007); Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (1993) and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark (1989). Permanent public works include the Angel of the North (Gateshead, England), Another Place (Crosby Beach, England), Inside Australia (Lake Ballard, Western Australia) and Exposure (Lelystad, The Netherlands).
Gormley was awarded the Turner Prize in 1994, the South Bank Prize for Visual Art in 1999, the Bernhard Heiliger Award for Sculpture in 2007, the Obayashi Prize in 2012 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2013. In 1997 he was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) and was made a knight in the New Year’s Honours list in 2014. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, an Honorary Doctor of the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity and Jesus Colleges, Cambridge. Gormley has been a Royal Academician since 2003.
Antony Gormley was born in London in 1950.
Artist’s website: www.antonygormley.com
About the K11 Art Foundation
Founded by Adrian Cheng in 2010, the K11 Art Foundation (KAF) is a registered not-for-profit organisation, which supports the development of Chinese contemporary art from Greater China by providing a creative platform that nurtures artistic talents and brings them to the international stage. Not only does KAF support artists, the Foundation also serves as an incubator for young Chinese curators.
KAF has embarked on many international collaborations. Amongst them the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí in Spain, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo and Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Armory Show in New York, showcasing Chinese talents and the voice of the young generation.
With 11 studios for its artist-in-residence programmes in the K11 art village in Wuhan, KAF serves as the unique incubating springboard for young and emerging contemporary Chinese artists to create new and meaningful works. Beyond traditional art spaces, K11 art village serves as innovative exchange platforms between local and international artists.
Through research, initiatives and partnerships, KAF offers the Chinese public a diverse range of programmes and exhibitions fostering people’s appreciation of arts and culture.
Please join the conversation with K11 Art Foundation on Instagram (@K11ArtFoundation), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/K11ArtFoundation), Weibo (http://www.weibo.com/u/2964758631) via the hashtag #K11ArtFoundation #KAF.
Presenters
Antony Gormley: Event Horizon Hong Kong is presented by British Council Hong Kong with support from lead partner the K11 Art Foundation and sponsors GAW Capital Partners, Grosvenor, Christie's, Hogan Lovells, Howard Bilton of The Sovereign Art Foundation, Central Saint Martin /Kai-Yin Lo Cross Culture Lecture, Dynamic Network Alliances, Mazarine Asia Pacific, Icicle Group and Sinclair Communications.
Antony Gormley: Event Horizon Hong Kong education and outreach programme is supported by M+, West Kowloon Cultural District, Asia Arts Archive, the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Hong Kong, PMQ, Asia Society Hong Kong and Youth Arts Foundation.
Event Horizon supporting organisations include JIA Group, Perrier Jouët, The Financial Times, Time Out Hong Kong, Art Map and Art Plus.
Learn more about Antony Gormley: Event Horizon Hong Kong on the website at www.eventhorizon.hk, and join the conversation on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EventHorizonHK
Instagram: https://instagram.com/eventhorizonhk/
#LookUpHK #EventHorizonHK #BritishCouncilHongKong #K11ArtFoundation #AntonyGormley
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