bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agnes Cheung

Australian businessman Ken Woodman gazes at an oval-shaped, boulder-like glossy stainless steel object in the departure hall of Hong Kong International Airport.  He's puzzled.

'What is it?' Woodman asks.  'I don't know what it is. I can't imagine what it is.' The frequent traveller to Hong Kong says he thought it was part of a racing  car when he first spotted the silhouette of the new display.

'I quite like it,' he says. 'It looks like an egg - an egg gone wrong. It adds a bit to the flavour of the airport and is certainly not out of place.'

The 65-year-old passenger is looking at  a sculpture named   A drop of dew created by local artist  Danny Lee Chin-fai. It's one of  eight pieces of art  on display in the terminal.

This is the first time the  Hong Kong Airport Authority  has commissioned  pieces for  what is the world's fifth busiest international passenger airport, which was designed by British architect  Norman Foster.

'The intention is to give  people departing Hong Kong a last impression of the city,' says authority commercial director Hans Bakker.

In providing a public platform for art, the airport  is  following in the footsteps of MTR stations, housing estates and shopping malls. Last December, it exhibited works  by 18 artists  along the central concourse. Through  art, the authority wants to provide 'extra dimensions' for passengers to relax, enjoy the environment and even reflect for a moment,  Bakker says.  The new pieces are  in the foyer of the East Hall after  passport control.

In his four sculptures about nature,  Lee says he's tried to evoke the beauty  of wildlife  and the environment through magnified and abstract images  of a dewdrop, a rock, birds  and trees.

A drop of dew, for example, serves as a wide-angle lens or a distorting mirror that provides  odd reflections of objects and people around. 'We shouldn't neglect small things around us,' says Lee, 54, who is also vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Visual Arts Society and a director of the Hong Kong Artists Association.

Lee's pair of birds, Dic Dic Dot Dot, were inspired by his passion for Chinese scenery and ink-and-wash painting.  'I like my pieces to be more abstract because that can raise the level of appreciation and give the viewers more room for imagination,' he says.  'Different people will then get different impressions and can have their own interpretations of the works.'

Another set of his works  in the terminal  focuses on communication. Lee says the pieces -  a bronze musical  called   Note, a red granite sculpture titled   Comma and a black granite piece,   Lineal Continuum - symbolise contact among people. They're arranged so people can walk between them  and even sit on Lineal Continuum.

Mok Yat-san and Man  Fung-yi's   Imagination of the  Sky  comprises what looks like  an ancient Chinese star chart embedded in  cushion-shaped stainless steel.  It's intended to reflect the traditional perception of the galaxy that posits a connection between one's fate and the stars. 'We tried to add  the Chinese cultural element  into a contemporary art form,' says Mok, 37. He and Man have been  promoting public art  at  local  schools.

Lee and Mok say they're happy to see their works displayed at the airport, through which millions of passengers  pass each year.

Art critic Louis Yu Kwok-lit,  welcomes the   sculptures and says it's  common overseas to exhibit art in airports. 'The question is how to display the works,' says Yu, who is executive director of the Hong Kong Arts Centre. 'Are they simply for ornament or being presented as works of art?'

A public area is different  from a gallery or museum  that's specifically designed to display art.  Unless there's careful planning and arrangement, the works won't stand out, he says. 'That will undermine the pleasure in art appreciation.'

Bakker  says the authority  will continue to 'explore new opportunities for art display. If we have the opportunity to  make a small contribution and establish  a more cultural scene in Hong Kong,  we'd love to do that.'

He  won't say how much  the  authority has spent on the eight sculptures, but says such an investment in art is for the heritage of the airport, which itself is an architectural statement. 'Art is invaluable, so it's inappropriate to mention numbers.'



Which countries will pick sides in a US-China conflict over Taiwan?

Will more US missiles in Philippines deter or provoke South China Sea conflict?

Hong Kong Observatory issues amber rainstorm warning

China, Vietnam set for first joint army drills as US trade war draws neighbours closer

South China Sea

Suffering from terminal boredom? Airport art breaks the mould