Time Out HK Bourree Lam talks to Zuni Icosahedron’s Mathias Woo and singer Anthony Wong about Architecture is Art Festival

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Mathias Woo and Anthony Wong interview

Bourree Lam talks to Zuni Icosahedron’s Mathias Woo and singer Anthony Wong about their massive new festival discussing art and architecture.

Art and architecture have to be the two markers of civilisation, with the latter an important way for any city to show off to the rest of the world (with its sky-scraping cityscape, Hong Kong certainly tries hard enough). But not according to Mathias Woo of avant-garde theatre and multimedia collective Zuni Icosahedron “We don’t look at architecture as art anymore, we only look at it as some kind of investment,” says Woo. “All the buildings in Hong Kong are anti-architectural. Architecture is about community… Hong Kong is like an expensive prison.”

Woo’s sentiment should strike a nerve among the vast majority of Hongkongers, who are forced to live in tiny boxes due to astronomical rent. In cultural terms, too, rent has been a barrier to growth: from artists’ studios to theatre and music venues – landlords’ excessive demands are often seen as a principal cause behind our city’s lack of cultural development.

“It goes back to design; the government and developers don’t really see Hong Kong as a place to build community,” says Woo grimly. “That’s why there’s no interaction between people speaking different languages; the English-speaking and Cantonese-speaking populations live in two different worlds. We cannot make it like London or New York where people integrate. If Hong Kong wants to be a true international city, we must have culture.”

Woo believes that our predilection for mass-produced architecture has resulted in generic spaces that don’t serve the purpose of community or human interaction – the opposite of civilisation. Thankfully, this one-man creative force isn’t the type to sit quietly. The Architecture is Art Festival, a massive slew of events beginning Tuesday 1, will include theatre performances, lectures, films, and music concerts organised by Woo and Zuni, along with singer Anthony Wong, and promises to start some much-needed dialogue.

“We’re doing this festival to try to generate more discussion and also my vision of what architecture could be,” says Woo. “This is not only happening in Hong Kong, it’s happening globally – architecture has been used as a tool for the capitalist to make money, not to create better social environments.”

Accordingly, the four-part festival includes an awesome line-up of performances, which should spark ideas about what architecture should embody. A multimedia series kicks off proceedings, with a theatre performance focused on modern architecture godfather Ludwig Mies van der Rohe – probably better known for his notable coinage of conventional wisdoms “Less is more”, and “God is in the details”.

Along with Corbu & Kahn, Looking for Mies examines the life and works of these architectural greats. An art and music exhibition follows with photography by actress Karena Lam, and a strong roster of electronic musicians, including Alok, Anytone, Aenon Lo, Pun Tak-shu , Sin:Ned, and João Vasco Paiva.

A set of performances and lectures focused on Chinese architecture heavily features Anthony Wong and his record label People Mountain People Sea, big supporters of Zuni. “I’ve been with Zuni for a very long time; it’s like prehistory – before I became a singer. We’ve been collaborating for over 20 years,” says Wong. “I had some hesitation since I’m not an expert on Chinese culture or architecture, but I felt this was a great opportunity for me to explore this topic.”

Wong will be the singer and narrator in multimedia performance The Forbidden City, with songs composed by Yu Yat-yiu. “He’s a swallow that can fly throughout the palace and also throughout dynasties. He serves as the narrator of all the things that have happened in the palace. He’s a very abstract narrator, and sort of a commentator.”

As with Wong’s well-known musical aesthetic, one can expect electronic lapped with pop vocals – and, of course, a signature costume. “We’re still in the design stage, but there should be wings,” he muses. “But no flying, it’d be hard to do that and sing at the same time.”

Meanwhile, the City Odyssey segment is an electronic concert curated by local musician Nerve, who relates that cityscapes very much influence music. “Living in a city, our life is an endless urban odyssey,” explains Nerve. “The sights and sounds we encounter become part of our creative process, and become integrated into our creations.”

While Architecture Is… only features local musicians, City Odyssey showcases four musicians from Shenzhen, Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong, with each presenting 15-minute audio visual soundscapes inspired by their respective cities.

Finally, the festival hits on the inevitable elephant in the room – the West Kowloon Cultural District. Zuni’s signature parody theatre series East Wing West Wing continues with West Kowloon Dragon Balls, taking humorous pot shots at the politics and development of West Kowloon in Saturday Night Live-style.

The last word of all this is the hope of a more mature, not to mention culturally and artistically involved, community. “The problem is that we really need to develop a critical mass,” says Woo. “Hong Kong has a lot of talented and sophisticated people, but most of them don’t really care [about nurturing arts and culture]. The only good thing in Hong Kong is that we still have freedom. The issue is that we cannot institutionalise it and become a true pluralistic community.”

“Our living space is so functional, but we can integrate functionality with aesthetic. It can be art – and make the quality of life much better,” says Wong. “Our city doesn’t really encourage art, architecture in our city is all about being big and tall, but that’s not the whole picture. It can be inspiration."