A 4.7-metre installation by sculptor Nathalie Decoster was unveiled at Pacific Place last evening, brought to Hong Kong by Paris Aeroport.
The sculpture will remain in the centrecourt opposite Thai Basil and Le Pain Quotidien until May 27 before it is shipped back to Paris for permanent display at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport from September.
The promotion is in partnership with Le French May Arts Festival, Pacific Place and curators Agnes Mabille and Camille Chaumette.
Cecile Marchand-Cassagne, director of international clientele at Paris Aeroport, told Inside Retail Hong Kong that retail is now the largest source of revenue for Paris-Charles de Gaulle. And Chinese customers are the biggest spenders of all nationalities visiting the airport, despite being outnumbered by Americans and French.
She said displaying the sculpture at Pacific Place was a means of building a connection between the two cities.
Promoting talented French artists in Asia underlines Paris Aeroport as more than a hub for travelling, she says, offering guests an enjoyable experience in discovering the best of French hospitality, lifestyle and culture.
The new creation, called Consciousness, was built in Decoster’s huge studio in a part of a converted aircraft manufacturing factory. It features stainless steel tubes twisted and polished into the shape of clouds, with tiny brass human figurines positioned inside. She describes the figures as “a universal statement to everyone living in big cities,” and a “true declaration of love to humanity”.
Beside the sculpture, the pop-up Pacific Place display includes photography of Decoster at work, video installations and a photo booth in the shape of Decoster’s symbol ‘le temps qui passe’ (‘time passes’) where visitors are invited to adopt the posture of a sculpture character walking in a circle, becoming the ‘heart of the work’.
Nathalie Decoster’s work has been shown in Canada, Brazil, the US, Austria, Italy, Great Britain, France and elsewhere over a career that has spanned over 20 years.
