We speak with the art duo taking the creative scene by storm who are also the creative brains behind the 2016 Ambassadors Ball
Haven’t heard of Stickyline? Well you’re about to. The dynamic duo have been appointed as the creative directors for the 2016 Ambassadors Ball which is taking place on November 4, 2016 at PMQ.
A little background about the artists, Stickyline is a Hong Kong-based creative duo made up of Soilworm Lai and Mic Leong, both of whom graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic Univeristy School of Design. They first rose to prominence after their debut project, “Masked Creatures” went viral on social media. It originally started as a pet project created for DETOUR in 2011, the popular Hong Kong design festival that was founded by the Design Trust.
Ahead of the event, we spoke with the creative duo about their journey to date, how the DesignTrust has elevated their work and and their hopes for the future:
Stickyline was founded in 2011 and our mission is to transform two-dimensional planes into three-dimensional forms through a process of deconstruction and reconstruction.
Our proudest accomplishment to date has to be the success and recognition our “Masked Creatures” project has received. What started as a small project of headpieces has turned into installations, window displays and sculptures.
What sets our work apart from other artwork is the influence Hong Kong plays in our work and the playful relationship our work has between object and proportions.
Hong Kong is where we were born and raised so it is home and it carries great significance to us. Our first project, “Masked Creatures,” consisted of crafting paper headpieces in the shape of a number of well-known Hong Kong buildings such as the Hong Kong Cultural Center, the Hong Kong Space Museum, the HSBC Main Building and the International Finance Center, which is a reflection of how much Hong Kong means to us and is embedded in our artistic narrative.
We’re really excited for the 2016 Ambassadors Ball and we hope people respond well to the theme and that all of our hard work and efforts are appreciated.
Soilworm Lai and Mic Leong
Our partnership with the Design Trust has expanded the scope of our vision and allowed us the freedom to explore more creative possibilities, to broaden our network and to connect with specialists or organisations through events, talks and sharing. The DesignTrust has allowed us to reach another level in terms of art and design and has propelled us forward to making our visions a reality.
We seek inspiration from daily life, from what we experience day to day to what we experience over a longer period of time. We are constantly coming up with new ideas and concepts and sharing these with our friends, who are also a big source of inspiration.
What sets our work apart from other art work is the influence Hong Kong plays in our work and the playful relationship our work has between object and proportions. Looking back, there are always projects we would have liked to have done better, but hindsight is always 20/20.
We haven’t defined our end goal yet, we’re still exploring what we want to do and of course we are trying to test the boundaries of our art and experimenting with new elements such as lighting, projection, new fabrication methods and so forth. We are also open to collaborations and have a few projects in the pipeline.
So Stickyline in Cantonese actually translates to “being a little bit crazy,” which kind of sums up our words to live by: “always be a little bit crazy!”
All proceeds from the Ambassadors Ball benefit the DesignTrust.
Photography by Michaela Giles