'Invention & Intervention,' Hong Kong's big new media arts fest

New Media Art: Runs a high electricity bill.

Making use of digital art, computer robotics and interactive art, as well as new media arts advances in technology, a dynamic exhibition in Hong Kong -- “Invention & Intervention -- Power Showcase of Hong Kong New Media Artists” -- reflects our lives and emotions.

Joel Kwong, exhibition curator and program director of Microwave, which organized the expo together with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, says, “Hong Kong new media artists are maturing at an amazing speed, surpassing that of traditional artists.”

With the number of art venues and exhibitions proliferating around the city in recent years, Hong Kong, has become a breeding ground for new media artists, nurturing local talents.

But it may take some time for the audience to catch up with the art producers. New media artist Miu Ling Lam who commutes between Hong Kong and Los Angeles, says that many Hongkongers are still in the process of understanding and accepting new media arts.

“I wish my friends would stop asking what I do for living,” says Lam.

Keith Lam's "Moving Mario" received an Honorary Mention at the Interactive Arts category in Ars Electronica 2008.

Among the most outstanding local artists, five were invited to submit their best works in the exhibition, each with their own forte.

Teddy Lo

After touring the world with numerous solo exhibitions, advertising expert Teddy Lo has brought home his expertise in lighting technology.

Combining architecture, LED technology and nature, Lo’s "Shades Dynamicism" transforms the weather changes of four different cities into a device with morphing LEDs.

Keith Lam

Keith Lam has participated in an international exhibition in Austria and also received major recognitions worldwide, including an Honorary Mention at the Interactive Arts category in Ars Electronica 2008, a prestigious award in new media art.

The talented artist is showcasing his brand new work "Signal Morphor" in this year’s event, exploring the impact of digital signals on our daily lives. His kinetic sculpture reacts to the signals emitted from electronic devices such as mobile phones.

"Signal Morphor" visualizes the penetrating signals that are shaping today's architecture and environment, showing how people and cities could be influenced by something intangible like digital signals.

Samson Young's invention for the show "Sense Live!" produces sounds based on your concentration level.

Miu Ling Lam

Lam is a bioinformatics and physical intelligence researcher and multi-media artist, who specializes in transforming science and cultural elements into innovative works.

That translates to a work like "Streaming Nature." Lam invented this device to connect the sound of nature with phone calls. It was a sleepless night when Lam came up with idea. She was tossing and turning in bed, craving for the sound of sea waves.

With just a phone call, Lam’s latest invention will connect the audience to the soundscapes of the Pacific Ocean underwater near Maui, South Africa, Antarctica and the Shengsi Isles near Shanghai in real time.

Chris Cheung

New media arts don’t necessitate novelty. Artist Chris Cheung saw the depressing uniformity caused by technology and invented "No Longer RIGHT," which is a lone mission to preserve the joy of writing from the invasion of technology.

The device personalizes each person’s typing pattern, the speed and power of typing, to come up with a unique Chinese calligraphy. 

Samson Young (far left), next to him is Teddy Lo; Keith Lam (far right) and Chris Cheung right beside him.

Samson Young

Sharing similar tastes with Chris Cheung, another local artist, Samson Young, aka Hong Kong’s Prince of Classical Music, created a machine that, well, does absolutely nothing meaningful.

The "Machine for Making Nothing" is a series of tiny battery-powered electronic devices that amplify the repetitive and meaningless inputs from humans with almost hypnotic visual or sonic feedback. It is Young’s stinging satire on our reliance on machines. 

In another multimedia event in August named Sense Live!, the five participating artists will be sharing their creative concepts in an interactive show. The audience can also try out Young's brand new Machines for Making Nothing.

Invention & Intervention – Power Showcase of Hong Kong New Media Artists. July 22 - August 7, Noon - 10 p.m., LG2, Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong 

Artist Symposium and Sense Live! August 7, 7:30 p.m., Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. HK$80/ 120. Tickets are now available at all HK Ticketing outlets and www.hkticketing.com

Website: www.microwavefest.net