Breathing new life into traditions
Some of the most well-known design work from Sammy Or would definitely be: LiSung, LiGothic and a more recent font, XinGothic. Or, a seasoned typeface designer from Hong Kong, participated in developing the sign system at MTR and the first Chinese digital LaserCom fonts for the Hong Kong government’s printing department. At Confluence • 20+, with the curator’s concept and programming by a local interactive designer, the installation composed of XinGothic Chinese characters with varying font weights generates patterns of weather and nature conditions. Just by gazing in front of this work, one would be immersed in the sea of modernised Chinese characters.
Another design work in the exhibition that breathed new life into traditions is by Samuel Chan. Creating new designs from wood and new ways of expressing the material is one of Chan’s main motivations. In 2013, he initiated a new venture, Joined and Jointed, that fosters collaborations with worldwide celebrated designers and artisans to create original and exquisite furniture pieces.
Confluence • 20+ ‘s Chicago edition featuring Hong Kong good designs has gone halfway to completion. To make the exhibition more engaging and experiential, a wide range of programmes such as bamboo bundling craft workshop by father-and-son designers Freeman Lau and Lau Tin Ho, and cross-cultural fashion styling workshop by Sharon de Lyster in celebration of diversity and ethnicity, would be held to encourage public participation.
Confluence • 20+
14 October - 4 November, 2017
3/F Block Thirty Seven, 108 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60602
http://confluence20.hk/exhibition/chicago/
Image: work by Sammy Or
Image: work by Sammy Or