Imminent Domain: Designing the Life of Tomorrow | 設計裡外：生活 ‧ 未來

16 January 2016 - 28 February 2016

Installation view of Imminent Domain at National Design Center, Singapore.

In an era of unprecedented innovation in science and technology, how do designers respond to the constant paradigm shift in our lives? After all, good designers do not just explore how we will, but also how we should live in the future. In 2013, Asia Society Hong Kong Center organized its first design exhibition, Imminent Domain: Designing the Life of Tomorrow, to explore the heart of this matter. The 12 exceptional Hong Kong designers in the exhibition absorbed the influence of this changing world and provoked new ideas about lifestyle.

Travelling to National Design Centre in Singapore, this smaller-scale exhibition continues this goal with 3 selected designers from the original group of 12 – Nicolas Cheng, Yeung Chin and Dylan Kwok. What connects their designs is the common exploration of the (dis)continuation between the current and future ways of living. Cheng acquired the techniques from China to produce a set of cloisonné vessels that reminds the viewers of the encroaching forces of mass production in our age. Yeung’s inflatable garments challenge the society’s dominant formula of skinny-equals-beautiful. Kwok uses his reflective houses and specially made postcards to raise questions related to the boundaries of design and our lives in the future.

The goal of this exhibition is to showcase Hong Kong’s creative potential and at the same time establish a dialogue with the audience in Singapore. The 3 Hong Kong designers in the field of product, fashion and socio-urban design respectively challenge our current status quo and suggest an alternative mode of living. In doing so, they signify an imminent design revolution that will elevate us to a freer and more artistic domain.

Organized by Asia Society Hong Kong Center, Imminent Domain at National Design Center is curated by Dominique Chan, Head of Gallery & Exhibition. The assistant curator is On-tsun Andrew Fung.

Venue: National Design Centre, Singapore
(Design Gallery 1, Level 1, 111 Middle Road, Singapore 188969)

Visitor Information 參觀展覽

Exhibition Period

January 16- February 28, 2016

9:00am-9:00pm daily

Exhibition Venue:

National Design Centre, Singapore

Design Gallery 1, Level 1
111 Middle Road, Singapore 188969

Tel: (65) 6333 3737
Website: www.designsingapore.org

How to Get There

MRT

Circle Line - Bras Basah station (a 5-minute walk to the center, take Exit A)
East-West Line - Bugis station (a 5-minute walk to the center, take Exit C)

BUS

Middle Road (Midlink Plaza)
SBS Transit 56 and SMRT 980
Victoria Street (St Joseph's Church)
SBS Transit 130, 133, 145, 197 and SMRT 851, 960, NR7
Victoria Street (Bras Basah Complex)
SBS Transit 2, 12, 33, 130, 133 and SMRT 960, NR7
North Bridge Road (Cosmic Insurance Building)
SBS Transit 7, 32, 51, 61, 63, 80, 145, 175, 197 and SMRT 851

About the Artists 關於藝術家

Nicolas Cheng

Nicolas Cheng’s multi-disciplinary educational background has qualified him as an art diplomat bridging different areas of design. His academic journey spans from interior design and environment architecture in Britain to man and activity/living-industrial design in the Netherlands. He is one of the very few artists who are articulate in integrating different visual languages across different media. He is always interested in exploring with crossing boundaries and merging different disciplines to create a whole new art form. Repertoire of his designs includes contemporary art jewelry, interior architecture and product design.

He graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2006 and he received his Master degree in Jewelry and Corpus at Konstfack University, Stockholm in 2010. In 2007, he was artist in residence at FABRICA, the Communication Research Center of Benetton Group in Treviso, Italy. Over the years, Cheng’s series of work were extensively exhibited in various occasions and international venues including Dutch Design Week, London Design Festival and Design Miami/Basel.

鄭嘉智

鄭嘉智擁有跨學科的教育背景，擅長聯繫不同的設計範疇，堪稱藝術外交家。他曾在英國修讀室內設計及環境建築，在荷蘭修讀人類與活動/生活的工業設計課程。他是少數藝術家能夠以跨媒體角度去融和不同的視覺語言。他致力衝越規範，合拼不同的學科去創作全新的藝術形式。他的設計作品包羅當代藝術珠寶、室內建築、產品設計。

2006年他畢業於荷蘭 Design Academy Eindhoven。2010年獲瑞典國立大學頒發珠寶設計碩士學位。2007年成為意大利特雷維索Benetton Group傳播研究中心FABRICA的駐場藝術家。作品經常入選國際項目，包括荷蘭設計週、倫敦設計週、巴塞爾/邁阿密設計展。

Dylan Kwok

Dylan Kwok received his Master degree in Spatial Design at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland, and held a teaching position in Aalto University’s School of Design, Finland. Over the past few decades, he had many opportunities to be exposed to different cultural settings in ideologically contrasting societies while visiting East Asia, North America and the Scandinavia, thus developed a strong interest in the relationship between humanistic design and urban environment. He is now the co-owner of PIORA project, which Initially began by a Korean furniture designer Hyejin Ahn who was working on waxed paper art lamps in 2006. They both later decided to work together in 2010 and refined the project by introducing non-profit workshops, exhibitions and plans for artistic installation for the series.

After living abroad for 15 years, he’s returned to Hong Kong for good and is now working with Design Institute for Social Innovation of School of Design at HK Polytechnic University.

郭達麟

郭達麟畢業於芬蘭赫爾辛基藝術與設計大學，擁有空間設計碩士學位。曾任教於芬蘭阿爾托大學設計學院。過去數十年他的遊蹤遍及東亞、北美及北歐多國，體驗到社會中意見分歧的不同文化環境。從此專注於人性化設計與城市環境的關係。他為PIORA項目的合伙人，該項目源自南韓家具設計師Hyejin Ahn於2006年製作的蠟紙藝術燈具。二人於2010年合伙，藉著舉辦不牟利工作坊、展覽、計劃去創作有關的藝術裝置，改良原來的方案。

他旅居海外十五年後回歸香港，現任職於香港理工大學設計學院社會創新設計院。

Yeung Chin

Yeung Chin is best known for his creative flair in the reconfiguration of body shape through his clothing design. He is notable by experimenting with exceptional materials in his designs for striking visual effects. Instead of simply mixing and matching, he creates his own definition of aesthetics by experimenting with extreme materials, such as pairing raw wood on soft fabrics. In his latest work, he is passionately interested in sculptural work and has re-examined and hence explored new ways to shape and form through this new medium.

His innovative ideas have enabled him to play a key role in designing the main sportswear line and the design performance for the China team in the Olympic Games in Beijing. He graduated with a Master of Art in Fashion Design from the University of Westminster in 2009. His success has then brought him into the international arena, where his work was presented in the London Cheers Exhibition in 2009.

楊展

楊展最為人稱許的是透過服裝設計去重新塑造人體形狀。他於設計作品中實驗與別不同的物料，產生攝人的視覺效果。他的意念並非單純的混搭，而是創作自己的一套美學，實驗不同物料的配對，例如粗木材與柔軟布料。他最新創作了雕塑，藉此探索雕塑的可能新造型。

他憑著過人的創意，成功取得北京奧運會中國選手運動服飾及設計表演的工作。2009年他畢業於倫敦威斯敏斯特大學時裝設計系，取得碩士學位，令他躋身國際藝術界。作品曾入選2009年倫敦 “Cheers Exhibition”。

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