建築展評│03│M＋
Museum as layers of spaces and purposes | Bo Yee Lau
Relating visual art, moving images, and design and architecture
M+ Hong Kong reports an impressive 17 000 square metres of exhibition space across 33 galleries, media facilities, learning and research spaces and almost 6000 square metres of Conservation and Storage Facility[1]. Located in the West Kowloon Cultural District, a large-scale arts development center at the harbor front, it intends to rival many other renowned museums such as Tate Modern in London, Centre Pompidou in Paris or MoMA New York.
The museum focuses on three topics which relate to Asia on a global and local scale — visual art, moving images, and lastly design and architecture. Since its opening show in November 2021, these three topics are mostly exhibited in individual galleries. This was a conscious decision by the curators for the first showing to the public as they felt that it was more appropriate to prioritize the distinction between each topic and gallery rather than their commonalities. Any overlaps between the topics are implied in the era in which the works relate to (modernism and post-modernism) and in the nature of the works themselves.
Indeed, the extensive amount of works displayed can quickly become overwhelming. The visitor will probably not be able to absorb all the works initially. Rather than a comprehensive overview, there may be several different impressions upon several different visit.
A central atrium and four gallery spaces
Each gallery is organized around a central atrium on the second floor. For visitors, this central atrium that branches off into different galleries allows one to visit each exhibition as per their own preferences. For the curators, each gallery presents various possible narratives for the topics at hand as they are organized distinctly from the others.
The opening for the design and architecture exhibition in M+ is located within the East Gallery, which contains a series of consecutive rooms with a clear path. In contrast Sigg Gallery contain a group of highly interconnected rooms, the South Gallery and Courtyard Gallery are arranged around two light wells, and West Gallery has the largest and most open room. These all are different kinds of spaces in which works may displayed in, different types of lighting that would affect the experience and different ways in which programs may be organized around each other and understood.
In future exhibitions, the relationship between the different topics may become further apparent as curators figure out even more ways of utilizing these gallery spaces to contrast, compliment, or compare them.
A sequential exhibition leading to our current day
Titled ‘Things, Spaces, Interactions’, works on display in the East Galleries follow a sequential narrative.
Divided into five main sections, the exhibition first sets the tone by showcasing Hong Kong legacies and issues in design, such as an aerial photograph of Mei Foo Sun Chuen, the then largest private housing project in the world which put the city on the radar globally, contrasts against the Kowloon Walled City, a form of extreme informal urbanism often described as the slums of Asia. For the local Hong Konger such as myself, for who at times the city may seem too every day and dull, it was a reminder of the rich history this city has and its relevance today.
The gallery then begins its journey through modernism to postmodernism, it begins with emerging ideas of national identity during the war and post-war eras of the 20th century. In architecture, national agendas formalized themselves for example in national stadiums of the Olympic Games. Ways in which individuals and crowds interacted also began to change, and so the advent of various products arrived such as the rice cooker. Advancing from this we arrive at the 1960s where groups of architects tried to reimagine future cities and how man should live, for example in the works of Archi-gram, the metabolism movement in Japan, Zaha Hadid and so on. Postmodernity then comes, with the argument ‘anything goes’ as a reaction against its highly functional and exclusive predecessor Modernism. Notable works include the remarkably relocated and conserved Kiyotomo Sushi Bar designed by Kuramata Shiro, alongside some of his other furniture and product designs.
What’s clear throughout the exhibition is a constant comparison and juxtaposition of the works against one another, highlighting that rather than an individual appreciation, a collective understanding is encouraged. This results in a perspective on the larger forces at play throughout history, such as social or economic issues, which design has embodied repeatedly. And with this in mind, the final section turns the focus onto the audience, posing five questions relevant to us today; where is the need; where does the hand end and the machine begin; how do we interact; who is the author; and finally, where is nature? Provocative yet gentle, the audience leaves the gallery with a new perspective on their everyday lives, as well as the designs which shape them and themselves who shape designs.
The current exhibition is expected to continue into 2024, wherein after they are reorganized for the next show.
M+ has indeed brought with it an appetite for cultural spaces in Hong Kong and no doubt to wider Asia in general. Its magnitude and dedication to exhibiting and archiving design and architecture brings a much-wanted conversation of the role and timeliness of museums in Asia for these exact topics. Its curation as well as the museum building in which it is displayed in and on is one that brings inspiration and anticipation for future shows to come.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Ikko Yokoyama at M+ and her willingness to give her time so that I could interview her, and Patricia Wong at the West Kowloon Cultural district Authority for organizing and communicating.
[1] Facts and stats of the M+ Building: M+. (n.d.). Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/the-building/facts-stats/
