HKMoA In-Between Exhibition | Hong Kong

onebite was commissioned by the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the exhibition’s lead artist, Choi Kim-hung to design “In-Between”, a celebratory thematic exhibition for the museum’s 60th  anniversary. Our design responded to the curatorial statement, “行行重行行”, derived from the title of a Chinese poem dating back to the Han Dynasty. The poem, as well as the curatorial statement, alluded to the mental and physical toll of undergoing a series of arduous journeys. The idea of journeying became a representation of how artists undergo intertwined periods of feeling lost and overcoming self-doubt, before achieving maturity and mastery of his craft.

Our narrative for “In-Between” reflects this journey of change through self-actualisation.

The design team devised the use of a continuous ribbon winding through the entire two-storey exhibition space to represent the meandering art journeys artists took to evolve and transform their artworks over time. The bold use of white and black wall surfaces, and the contrasting green ribbon is intended to shock visitors into pausing, overcoming their confusion, and exploring the journeys of the seven featured artists with a mix of curiosity and appreciation. The fluid movement between smaller spaces and spacious volumes offered visitors a sense of rhythm, with the former intense spaces displaying artwork created in times of struggles, and the latter expansive areas showcasing artworks created during periods of maturity and confidence.

The ribbon is also an analogy for onebite’s role in this multidisciplinary project as the team has developed a close working relationship with the museum, the lead artist, and the seven featured artists through an iterative and collaborative design process. On one hand, the team made numerous proposals to determine the right form of protection for every art piece and decide the most appropriate display method that could reflect each artist’s journey precisely. On the other hand, the design team and artists kept close communications during the production and technical development of the seven new pieces of commissioned artworks such that spatial design and  art creations merged seamlessly.

Onebite appreciated the close cooperation among all parties involved that allowed construction challenges like the implementation of a continuous surface across two levels to be satisfactorily resolved, leading to a coherent integration between curatorial direction and spatial design.