Hope & Glory: Conceived by Simon Birch

March 22, 2010 Hong Kong ----- Hong Kong-based artist Simon Birch has created Hope and Glory, one of the most ambitious multi-media art projects ever undertaken in Hong Kong.  

The unprecedented scale of the show, filling the 20,000sq ft ArtisTree exhibition space in TaiKoo Place, Island East from April 8th – May 30th, will challenge established paradigms in art presentation and construction while bringing the audience on a fascinating and immersive adventure through a metaphorical world - a conceptual circus - created by the artist. 

A series of interlinked multi-media installations will transform the vast space into a mythological labyrinth, where cultural and personal histories merge, and generating questions of one’s own relationship with the past, the present and the future.  

Just as the archetypal circus brought together spectacular “sideshows” from all over the world to create a multi-sensory allegory of foreign adventure, Birch has brought together artists, designers, musicians, filmmakers, photographers, actors, gaming wizards, and architects, from Hong Kong and abroad. 

Each has contributed their own particular vision to Hope and Glory’s conceptual world of spectacle and wonder. Among Birch’s collaborators are artist Stanley Wong, photographer Wing Shya, British rock band UNKLE, filmmaker Eric Hu, designer  Douglas Young, architect Paul Kember, actor  Daniel Wu, and Beijing-based artist Cang Xin. 

Birch’s monumental show explores a number of major themes that recur in the artist’s work: the idea of art as a spectacle; the fascination with circuses and fairgrounds, science fiction and mythologies; as well as a preoccupation with the traditions of craftsmanship and labour in art production. 

Hope and Glory is deeply informed by the structure of the ‘hero myth’ that appears in different guises throughout history and across cultures, ranging from the Odyssey of ancient Greece to modern science fiction films like Star Wars and Blade Runner. The narrative that unfolds is a retelling - through film, sculpture, music, video, painting, gaming, and live performance - of archetypal themes, such as the duality of human existence, the relationship between suffering and redemption, the journey from darkness into light, and the leap from adversity into transcendence. By entering into its all-immersive environment, the audience becomes part of this unfolding experience. 

The title of the project, ‘Hope and Glory’, is an appropriation of the title of a British patriotic song from the close of the Victorian era, ‘Land of Hope and Glory’, an anthem that hopes for a mightier and more powerful empire. The use of the title is both ironic and meaningful, referring to the hope and glory that is relative to individual human experience, as well as to the negatives which burden imperial dreams. 

One of Birch’s intentions in conceiving this monumental installation is the creation of an all-enveloping artistic space that echoes the function of the circus in traditional culture: offering within the frenetic urban environment a temporary place of other-worldly respite and the experience of a communal sense of wonder. 

The challenges of realizing a visual arts exhibition of this scale and complexity in Hong Kong have been enormous, but facing them has generated the creation of new mechanisms for building bridges between private and public institutions, and for bringing artists, entrepreneurs, academics and government together. The support has been extraordinary and quite unprecedented for a visual arts project, and on 5thMarch, the HKSAR Mega Events Fund formally announced its support for the Hope and Glory project with a 2 million HKD pledge. 

A series of innovative forums and interactive educational talks exploring topics and questions generated by Hope and Glory will be held throughout the exhibition period (schedule to be announced).

Jessie Chang, The Birch Foundation (Jessie@thebirchfoundation.com/ +852 6280 2309) 

Joanne Leung, Occasions PR & Marketing Ltd. (joanne@occhk.com/ +852 2523 7666) 

Hope and Glory

A Conceptual Circus Conceived by Simon Birch

8 th April to 30 th May, 2010 

ArtisTree, 1/F Cornwall House, TaiKoo Place, Island East, Hong Kong (MTR: Quarry bay, Exit A) 

Open Daily from 10:00 to 20:00 (Free Entrance)

Presented by the Birch Foundation (www. thebirchfoundation.com)

Creative Collaborators:

Valerie Doran, Paul Kember, anothermountainman, James Lavelle and UNKLE, Gary Gunn, LucyandBart, Florian Ma, Alvina Lee, Dr. Robert Peckham, Prodip, Bamboo Star, Laura Thomas, Clive Kirsten, Douglas Young, Cang Xin, Wing Shya, Eric Hu, Eddie Chung, Jan Lam

Contributors:

Cleo Lam, Daniel Wu, Lisa S, Terence Yin, Phat Chan, Ana R, Race Wong, Rosanne Wong, Grace Huang, Tony Magnetic, AJ Halkes, Absolute Creative, Kim Haslam, Errol Samuels, Laurent Guttirez, Li Xu, Drafus Chow, Stephen Chan, Anouk Hatzakorian, Billy Lau, Vanessa Lee, Nadia Hatta, Paul Luxenburg, Terry Batt, Elia and Lydia Wong, Mimi Leung, Natalie Kadoorie, Brian Siswojo, Kit Leung, Brandon Ho, Francesco Suarez, Lisa Genasci, Mae Wang, Di Footitt, Andy Lee, Chris and Callie Botsford, Gus Mok Chiu-Yu, Gary Kramer, Jessie Chang, Laura Thomas, Calvin Ho, Dan F, Lyn Savage

Supported by:

Swire Island East, HKSAR Mega Events Fund

Diesel, G.O.D., Louis Vuitton, Shanghai Tang

84000 Communications, KplusK, GreenSpot, Surrender All, Bamboo Star, Drum Music, Events Canopie Asia, Musion, Yamoto, Ocean Vista Films

Centre for the Humanities and Medicine HKU, International Cultural Leadership Academy HKU, Centre for Community Cultural Development, Chinese International School

10 Chancery Lane Gallery, ArtHK, Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, Hong Kong Cancer Fund, Sovereign Art Foundation, Asian Art Archive, AliveNotDead.com, Occasions

Special Thanks to Amanda Loke