"Design is everywhere—and Hong Kong brims with it, from the latest furniture store to the typography on the menu at your local cha chaan teng. We should give it the attention it deserves. Don’t you agree?”
It takes just a few moments listening to an enthusiastic Alan Chan on the subject of his latest project to decide that, yes, we definitely should.
Luckily, the design and branding guru has mastered a plan—and a partner in its execution, longtime friend and fellow artist Stanley Wong. The result is Very Hong Kong Very Hong Kong, an exhibition encompassing “design at large” made and nurtured in the city.
Its some thousand works are grouped in 11 categories—graphic & publication, photography, products & toys, fashion, space, architecture, music, film, media, advertising, and comic & illustration—and are on display at Comix Home Base in Wan Chai from August 17 to 29.
See also: Alan Chan, A Magpie's Eye
Alan Chan
The curators of this tribute to our city’s culture and often-overlooked creative flair could not have been better equipped for the project. A visual artist, collector and entrepreneur, Alan founded his eponymous studio, Hong Kong’s first major design brand, in 1980, and later established the cultural venues Gallery 27 and Space 27.
His works have been collected by institutions such as the Museum of Design in Zurich, the National Art Museum in Beijing and Hong Kong’s own M+, and have appeared at the Shanghai Biennale and other international events.
Stanley Wong
Also an advertising maven, Stanley has worked as creative director for a number of international advertising companies. Like Alan, he started his own design venture, 84000 Communications, and branched into contemporary art, from filmmaking to photography, with his work being shown at important international events such as the Venice Biennale.
He is known in the art world under the pseudonym anothermountainman, and widely acclaimed for his Red White Blue series, works that incorporate different materials—fabric, plastic, canvas—in the three hues.
The Design Duo
Collectively, they’ve won more than 1,000 awards in the creative sector. It’s hard to think of a duo more qualified—or more intellectually and artistically in synch—to put together a show of this kind. Their affinity is obvious, and not just on an intellectual level; when I meet them for our interview, they're wearing complementary outfits and matching outfits with black round-framed glasses.