“Unforgettable” is not just a favorite word. It’s a life philosophy for me. It’s a guiding light, that I live to make every experience and encounter I have with people and places, unforgettable. I will be writing about my remarkable adventures, focused on style, art and travel.
The Left Wing installation was one of the highly anticipated pieces at Art Basel this year, with kinetic sculptures that were metaphors for socio-political realities for agrarian societies in Asia.
I am in Hong Kong at the moment, immersing myself in the Hong Kong Art Week, one of the most exciting times to be in the city. Art Basel Hong Kong returns for its sixth edition this week. Featuring 248 leading galleries from 32 countries, the fair showcases a wide range of masterpieces. There are early 20th century work, alongside contemporary work by both established and emerging artists–Andy Warhol, George Condo, Jeff Koons, Frog King. There are also Filipino artists Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, Manuel Ocampo, and many more.
Art Basel HK opened its doors to collectors, movers and shakers in the art world. It is an essential event on the art calendar, offering a glimpse at the best artwork from the Asia-Pacific region and the world’s top galleries.
Merely an hour and a half into Art Basel Hong Kong’s private view on Tuesday–a by-invitation-only event attended mostly by collectors–Willian de Kooning’s Untitled XII was sold for USD 35 million to Brett Gorvy of Lévy Gorvy Gallery, from the renowned collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. It is the most expensive work known to have been sold at the Hong Kong fair.
Alfredo and Isabel Aquizilan created the Left Wing Project, an installation in collaboration with farmers and blacksmiths from Indonesia.
The entire space was overwhelming, so I decided not to overdose on all the artwork on exhibition. But the one thing I most anticipated was the Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan’s installation, entitled the Left Wing Project. It was an installation made of sickles, weighing scales, sacks of rice, rope, motors and sounds. This immense, site-specific installation features seven wing-like kinetic sculptures, made from hand-forged sickles hung from the ceiling. They are counter-balanced by sacks of rice suspended from weighing scales. The wings are synchronized alongside a symphony of sounds recorded from Javanese sickle factories. Left Wing Project (Belok Kiri Jalan Terus) is part of an ongoing body of work created in collaboration with farmers and blacksmiths from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It continues the artists’ research into the complex social and political realities facing contemporary agrarian societies in Asia.
“It was most challenging for us to install our work in the given space, but we did it and we are very happy with the results,” Isabel Aquilizan shared at the Conversations discussion.
The Left Wing installation is massive and hypnotic, and one of the most important artwork on exhibition at the Art Basel this year! It’s truly unforgettable! To the Aquilizans, art and life are always together–and I couldn’t agree more.
Stay tuned for my other unforgettable updates here from Hong Kong Art Week.
]]>