Sandtable

  • Photo by Jimmy Ho.
  • Photo by Jimmy Ho.
  • Photo by Jimmy Ho.
  • Rendering of "Sandtable 沙盆推演". Image Courtesy of Hong Kong Design History Network.
  • "Sandtable 沙盆推演" will be a part of London Design Biennale June 2021. Image Courtesy of Hong Kong Design History Network.

The Hong Kong Design History Network is a platform that seeks to debate on Hong Kong’s design history and legacy. In this effort, it responds to the London Design Biennale theme “Resonance” with a curatorial proposal for a Hong Kong Pavilion entitled Sandtable.

The Hong Kong Design History Network is a platform that seeks to debate on Hong Kong’s design history and legacy. In this effort, it responds to the London Design Biennale theme “Resonance” with a curatorial proposal for a Hong Kong Pavilion entitled Sandtable.

Working with Hong Kong artists, designers and architects, Sandtable will use the basis of storytelling to reconstruct the resonance experienced from the city. Captured in sand, visitors’ written strokes will be projected live in the mirroring sites, forming an archive of resonance on site and online. The project is a discourse on archives, colonial legacy, and design history, but also an opportunity to reflect on the future of Hong Kong’s history. Hong Kong is a nexus and a vessel for resonance between multiple cultures: if captured in words, it would be a co-authored, dynamic book of interactions, transcending time, and cultural differences.

Milestone

2019.Q2
Project awarded Design Trust Feature Grant

2019.10-11
Inspired by the design principles of Archigram, a multi-dimensional experience was created for a Design Trust event.

2021.06
“Sandtable” was on view at London Design Biennale Hong Kong Pavilion from 1st-27th June 2021. As a portal to the interconnected histories of Hong Kong, the Pavilion acts as an interactive and generative space. “Sandtable” is curated by Design Trust Feature Grantee members from Hong Kong Design History Network: Sunnie Chan, Mina Song (also 2017 and 2018 Design Trust / RCA Design in Curation Fellows), Vivien Chan, Juliana Kei (former M+/ Design Trust fellow), Janice Li and Jennifer Wong (former curatorial member at M+), along with designers aona (Charles Lai and Ricky Suen), K2 (Teresa Dermawan, Amy Un and Alex Tsoi) and Trilingua (Adonian Chan and Chris Tsui Sau Yi), responding to the theme of Resonance by the Artistic Director for London Design Biennale, Es Devlin this year. Captured in sand, visitors’ written strokes will be projected in the installation, forming an archive of resonance on site and online, encouraging collective speculation beyond digital space and physical space.

 

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2019
Grantee: Janice Li

Janice Li is a London-based curator and researcher of design, fashion and material culture, with a focus in the crossing over of art, design, science and humanities, as well as their relations with inclusivity and sustainability. She also engages in projects concerning intersectionality and decolonisation. Janice's passion lies within the interactions between the space, the people, and the ‘things’ they wear and use,  particularly in a crossmodal and transcultural context.

An alumna of the Royal College of Art, she has independently curated design exhibitions at Venice Design, Salone del Mobile, MoMA Biodesign, Vienna Design Week and the 24th edition of the RCA Secret, while being a consultant for the Science Museum (London). Previously worked on ‘Fashioned from Nature’, she is now an Assistant Curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum for its V&A East development. Her curatorial practice explores how sensory experiences in designed environments and immersive art forms contribute to the understanding of intangible data and knowledge.

Organisation: Hong Kong Design History Network

The Hong Kong Design History Network (HKDHNet) is a research collective focused on the diverse design histories of Hong Kong. Founded by a group of alumni of the V&A/RCA History of Design programme and the RCA/Design Trust Fellowship, HKDHNet work across academic and public institutions to re-contextualise histories of Hong Kong through collaborative, cross-disciplinary projects centred on design and material culture. Connected by personal and scholarly ties to Hong Kong, members of the collective come from various fields within art, design, academia, and museums with a wide range of expertise in architecture, urban studies, fashion and dress, and exhibitions, amongst others. HKDHNet are currently based in the UK and Hong Kong.

Project Progress:

Archives visits and dialogues with archivists has been an integral part of our joint-research process with the participating design studios. These workshops and visits aimed to facilitate dialogues between designers and archivists about what archives are, how they work, and through these discussions, question the established narratives of the design history of Hong Kong. Among the HKDHNet team, as curators and academics, they are acutely aware that the nature of archives in and of Hong Kong is dispersed and diverse, and encompasses both long-established and grassroots collections, particularly when considering design objects. It is fundamental to highlight these issues and offer access to these collections as a way to spark dialogues between designers and reflect on how history is read within Hong Kong’s design history. After each archive visit, the teams gathered to reflect on the findings and/or present ideas inspired by the previous session. These sessions also served as invaluable meeting points for the curatorial and design teams, further facilitating the collaborative process and the refinement of the design proposals.