MTalks: 2021 Design Trust Critically Homemade X MPavilion Past Event
The Design Trust Critically Homemade (DTCH) programme is established as a response to the current challenges faced by societies locally and globally alike. Probing into the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the design community, the programme emerged with the desire to facilitate creative collaboration, inspire critical reflection, and drive forward with a positive momentum from the core of our network, radiating beyond our city Hong Kong. Since its conception, the Critically Homemade micro-initiative has been naturally represented with a rainbow, relaying a message of optimism, hope, and resilience that parallels the intention behind our efforts in creating an organic platform for designers and viewers alike to think critically and creatively to form a collective response to these new norms. Over time, rainbows have been embedded with symbolic power, contextualized through historical, political, and cultural adoptions of the visual motif – and through this initiative, Design Trust builds upon it while echoing its sense of unity. Through Design Trust Critically Homemade, new meanings are once again attributed to the different colours of the rainbow.
Under the theme of “Space: Experiments in Time” the online event focuses on the act of creative collaborations under lockdown and prompts questions around resiliency and collectivism under the Design Trust: Critically Homemade Programme and its rainbow D universal symbol of hope across different continents.
Videos
ELAINE YAN LING NG
Elaine Yan Ling Ng, Design Trust Feature Grant Recipient, Design Trust Futures Studio 2019 Mentee, founder of THE FABRICK LAB, brings together textiles, electronics, biomimicry, interiors and installations. Elaine is a British Chinese visionary multi-media artist and a graduate of Central Saint Martins in London where she earned her MA Design in Textile Futures with distinction. Elaine, also known as the ‘techno fairy’ by Elle Deco, is a TED fellow and is globally recognized, having worked with international design companies such as Nissan Design Europe and Nokia Design Beijing with multiple design awards. In 2015, Elaine became the recipient of the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award, which acknowledges emerging studios and designers who are actively expanding design culture through experimentation with cutting-edge technologies. As part of the collaboration with Swarovski, Elaine unveiled “Sundew” at last year’s Design Miami/Basel, a kinetic creation inspired by the exotic and carnivorous Sundew plant. This incredible installation was also exhibited in Art Central Hong Kong 2016. Her magical approach towards materials has been described by Wired UK as ‘The Chinese designer creates materials that move and grow like trees – but faster.’
FREDERIC GOORIS
Frédéric Gooris is an industrial design entrepreneur, trained as an engineer in Belgium, he had also worked as a designer at Philippe Starck and Stefano Giovannoni. As an entrepreneur in Hong Kong, Studio Gooris works’ fuse narratives and innovation into iconic products for clients including Alessi, China Southern Airlines, Ice Watch, Ferrero, Seiko, Rollogo, DeSter, Gategroup and Qantas Airlines among others. He has won numerous international awards for his work that spans from household goods, fashion accessories, cosmetics, lighting, audio, travel & sports goods, personal care, and baby products. Frédéric is also co-founder of Bombol – the company behind some of the most innovative baby furniture – and is about to launch a new optical brand Crisp Vision Company.
FU LI
Fu Li, Executive Director, UV Architecture (SZ).
HUGH DAVIES
ugh Davies is an interdisciplinary artist, curator and researcher. His practice explores histories of media devices and cultures of games and play in the Asia Pacific Region. Since 2018, he has been working with the M+ Museum of Visual Culture and the Hong Kong Design trust exploring how that city is represented in videogames and digital culture. He is currently a postdoctoral research fellow in Design and Creative Practice at RMIT.
JEN ZIELINSKA
Drawing upon her extensive experience in curation, arts management, community engagement, and event production, Jen attends to the details of MPavilion’s delivery with imagination and attention in her role as creative director.
Originally from London, Jen was the Victoria & Albert Museum’s program manager, curating the Friday Late program for two years before migrating to Melbourne. Previously, she worked across arts education and community engagement for organisations such as the Royal Academy of Arts, and the Louis Vuitton Young Arts Project. Jen’s experience in public programming extends from the Tate London’s Late at Tate to the British Museum, and ‘PopRally’ at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Before Jen joined the team at MPavilion, she also worked with the National Gallery of Victoria and the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival.
MARISA YIU
Marisa Yiu is an architect and Founding Partner of ESKYIU, a multi-disciplinary architecture studio based in Hong Kong. She was the Chief Curator of the 2009 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of UrbanismArchitecture; curated POP-UP Studio-X Shenzhen at the Value Factory; and the Design Trust Futures Studio flagship programme.
Yiu is also co-founder and Executive Director of Design Trust, an initiative of the registered charity Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design. Yiu is responsible for spearheading the creation of long-term, intelligent and meaningful platforms to fund innovative and thought-provoking investigations in various design disciplines, from graphics, media, wearable technologies.
YIP KAI CHUN
Yip Kai-chun, Myriem Alnet and Chan Chun-kit have lived on Peng Chau for a few years. Myriem is an urbanist; Kit is one of the founders of Sun Sat Store on Peng Chau; and Chun is an artist-curator. Kit and Myriem have founded ‘ISLANDERS’, a zine and space on the island cultures, and Chun has organised small-scale art events on Peng Chau before.