Prize(s) Winners in Conceptual Lighting installation / Outdoor Light Art Installation
Company Ceekayello Limited
Lead Designers Chankalun
Client La Prairie
Photo Credits Kit Cheng
Other Credits La Prairie, Chankalun, Felix Chan, East Wind Good Fortune
Project Location Tai Kwun Parade Ground, Hong Kong
Entry DescriptionSituated at the heritage site Tai Kwun, "Light as Air" is a celebration of female empowerment, sustainability and Hong Kong's local cultural heritage commissioned by the client for Art Basel Hong Kong.
It is a light odyssey to bring clean and pure Swiss air to Hong Kong, aiming to raise awareness of the air pollution in the city through the comparison to Switzerland’s pure air.
The representation of air is the fluid, floaty and light shape, where the “light”-ness of air can have 2 interpretations:
1/Lightweight of air
2/Light source with neon light as the medium.
Considering an average of 1mm delicate cream layer of the client's product spreading on your skin, the total weight of neon tubes has the same thickness of air all over the total surface of Montreux, where the client originated in Switzerland.
The movement of the light is also reacting to the daily air quality at Montreux through weather API. If the movement is slow and soothing, it means that the quality is good. If it’s running quickly and alarming, it means the quality is poor.
The interactivity of “Light as Air” was activated through human circuit when 2 or more viewers press on the pole of each side in front of the installation, and hold hands together. This action will light up the whole installation brighter, symbolising “If we join hands and force together as a community, we can light up a better future.”
Sustainability ApproachThere is a lot of glass breaking and also disposal of short glass tubes during the neon-making process.
In "Light as Air", these glasses are upcycled with the production waste from La Prairie’s White Caviar collection into some of the tubes to create a special lighting effect to be seen in Hong Kong for the first time.
For the disposed short neon glass tubes, we have reused them as insulated tubes for the installation.
We consider the afterlife of the 200 neon tubes in the installation as well! They are going to be reused in 2 upcoming projects for the Hong Kong Science Museum and Hong Kong Tramways as 2 new artworks and installations with different forms and shapes.
