BEIJING, Nov. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WF CENTRAL today announced a major arts collaboration with the internationally renowned Barbican Centre, to bring the acclaimed Digital Revolution exhibition to Asia for the first time.
As one of the most comprehensive presentations of digital creativity ever to be curated, Digital Revolution at WF CENTRAL, explores and celebrates the transformation of the arts through digital technology since 1970. The exhibition brings together a range of artists, filmmakers, architects, designers, musicians and game developers who are pushing the boundaries of their fields using digital media.
The exhibition represents the first in an ongoing series of arts and cultural experiences at WF CENTRAL, envisaged to engage, connect and build community through a considered curation of art and cultural creativity and experiential lifestyle. The events include further highly prestigious artistic collaborations with renowned international arts bodies with an exciting line-up of exclusive arts exhibitions and installations.
Digital Revolution, which opens to the public on 16th January 2018, comprises stunning immersive and interactive art works alongside exhibition-based display across seven specially-themed installation zones set within WF CENTRAL, the new premium lifestyle retail centre at Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing.
Curated by Barbican International Enterprises, this interactive exhibition embraces over 140 art works. Displays include special new commissions from leading Chinese media-artists Feng Mengbo, and Wu Juehui, exhibited alongside a wide array of global creative minds, including the works of world-famous musicians and entrepreneurs, will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, Bjork, Paul Franklin, visual effects designer for the Oscar-winning movie Inception and Chris Milk, music video director for music stars such as the Chemical Brothers, U2 and Kanye West.
Wu Juehui invites his audience to experience his 'Neo's Eye' of surreal spaces, inspired by the film 'The Matrix'. Augmented reality headsets imprint random numbers, code and information in a fragmented form over objects and people, making the viewer question what is really the 'real world'.
As an old Chinese proverb says: "An exchange of blows friendship grows." Multi-media artist Feng Mengbo presents 'Trueman Fight', a holovision game that shows real characters - his friends are 'actors' filmed and then programmed into the installation - that can be controlled in the computer game as if real people are staging a fight.
The exhibition also features filmmaker and artist Chris Milk, who has been honoured with top industry awards for his music video and commercial work, including the Grand Prix Cannes Lion, the D&AD Black Pencil, the Grand Clio, and SXSW's 'Best of Show', as well as multiple Grammy® nominations, MTV Moon Men, and the UK MVA Innovation Award.
In recent years, Milk has focused on using cross-media innovations to enhance emotional human storytelling, exposing the beauty in the things - physical, digital, intangible - that connect us all, with a wide range of exhibitions including works featured at the Tate Modern, the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival.
Digital Revolution features his major work, The Treachery of Sanctuary, a three-screen shadow play installation which explores life, death and rebirth through a moving onscreen narrative which visitors are invited to interact with.
"As a wholly unique retail and lifestyle experience in the heart of Beijing, WF CENTRAL will be a destination for a diverse array of art and cultural activity," said Mr Raymond Chow, Executive Director of Hongkong Land. "We aim to curate the very best cultural experiences, both from China and internationally and we are delighted to host this dynamic exhibition in collaboration with the Barbican, one of the most significant and internationally recognised art centres in Europe."
Mr Neil McConnon, Head of Barbican International Enterprises and project commissioner said: "Digital Revolution showcases a new generation of international artists, designers, filmmakers and musicians, celebrating creatives who continue to push artistic boundaries across the arts using digital media. We are excited to bring this internationally acclaimed exhibition to the people of Beijing and transforming WF CENTRAL into an animated canvas, which we hope will inspire digital enthusiasts, gamers, movie fans, music fans, families and art fans alike."
Digital Revolution, supported by the British Council, is located on B1 and Level 1 in WF CENTRAL from 16th January to 20th May 2018, open from 10am-10pm daily (closed Mondays) with last admission 60 minutes before close.
Early bird tickets, costing just RMB 80, are available now online from "Maoyan Entertainment" and "DaMai" until 15th January. From 28th November onwards, tickets can be purchased on the official WF CENTRAL WeChat site (WeChat ID: WFCENTRAL) and at the WF CENTRAL ticket office on the 1st Floor.
WF CENTRAL is a premium lifestyle retail destination, a world-class, 150,000 sq. m. retail, fine dining and hospitality hub in Wangfujing, in the centre of Dongcheng District, Beijing. It sets a new benchmark for retail and lifestyle through its FIVE Core categories. Each category offers unmatched experiences namely: Luxury; Fashion; World-class Gastronomy; Lifestyle & Wellness; and Art & Culture.
To discover more about WF CENTRAL and to receive our latest news and information on upcoming events, follow us on our Sina Weibo account and our WeChat account at "WF CENTRAL".
APPENDIX:
Digital Revolution embraces over 140 art works, set within seven specially-themed areas:
- Digital Archaeology rediscovers the key moments of digital creativity that are in danger of becoming lost for ever owing to the rapid developments in hardware and software since the 70s.
- We Create examines the increasing shift of web audiences from content consumer to creative content producer and participant, using readily available digital tools which are often free to use.
- Creative Spaces demonstrates how conventional notions of time, space and narrative can be re-imagined using digital tools.
- Sound & Vision examines the digital musical revolution and introduction of digital technologies has come to influence not only the sounds we hear but the style in which we see them, changing the look and feel of music for ever.
- Our Digital Futures presents a selection of some of today's most experimental and future-focused artists working with communication technologies, virtual and augmented realities, and high-performance textiles. The projects span the worlds of cyborg and wearable technologies, drones, artificial intelligence, warfare and big data.
- DevArt challenges what code can be, and what art can be. When developers use code to push the possibilities of creativity and technology, the result is a new type of art. It's called DevArt and it's made by a new type of artist.
- Indie Games Space looks at videogames that have been created with generally little or no direct support from a videogame publisher. Often consisting of no more than a coder, sound and graphics artist, independent games now span many genres.
Please download the hi-res images at: http://bit.ly/2ziYBhH
WF CENTRAL
WF CENTRAL is Hongkong Land's leading premium lifestyle retail centre in China at the commercial and political heart of the capital city, with the design and scale to both respect and revitalise the historic fabric of the Wangfujing area. Occupying a prime site of approximately 21,000 sq. m. on Wangfujing Street in Dongcheng District, Beijing, WF CENTRAL is bringing the community a total of 150,000 sq. m. gross floor area -- including a 74-room Mandarin Oriental hotel. The property offers 50,000 sq. m. of retail space.
Bringing together an unparalleled range of Luxury, Fashion, World-class Gastronomy, Lifestyle & Wellness, and Art & Culture experiences, WF CENTRAL is set to offer an authentically-new Beijing lifestyle experience by providing the opportunity to find inspiration, enjoy culture and be part of a new global perspective.
Located on the prosperous Wangfujing Street, WF CENTRAL is only a stone's throw away from the Forbidden City and the Central Business District of Beijing. It will provide 660 carpark spaces and is well served by the capital's public transportation and metro networks.
Hongkong Land
Hongkong Land is a listed leading property investment, management and development group. Founded in 1889, Hongkong Land's business is built on excellence, integrity and partnership.
The Group owns and manages approximately 800,000 sq. m. of prime office and luxury retail property in key Asian cities, principally in Hong Kong and Singapore. Hongkong Land's properties attract the world's foremost companies and luxury brands.
Its Hong Kong Central portfolio represents some 450,000 sq. m. of prime property. It has a further 165,000 sq. m. of prestigious office space in Singapore mainly held through joint ventures, and a 50% interest in a leading office complex in Central Jakarta. The Group also has a number of high quality residential, commercial and mixed-use projects under development in cities across Greater China and Southeast Asia, including a luxury retail centre at Wangfujing in Beijing. In Singapore, its subsidiary, MCL Land, is a well-established residential developer.
Hongkong Land Holdings Limited is incorporated in Bermuda and has a standard listing on the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore. The Group's assets and investments are managed from Hong Kong by Hongkong Land Limited. Hongkong Land is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.
About Barbican International Enterprises
BIE produces and tours a dynamic mix of ground-breaking contemporary art and popular culture, architecture, design, fashion and photography exhibitions. The team develops and tours a broad range of major international art exhibitions. Internationally touring exhibitions including Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style, Into The Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction, Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics and Game On. BIE are committed to bringing challenging and accessible exhibitions to as wide an audience as possible, touring to some of the world's leading venues.
About the Barbican
A world-class arts and learning organisation, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts. Its creative learning programme further underpins everything it does. Over 1.5 million people pass through the Barbican's doors annually, hundreds of artists and performers are featured, and more than 300 staff work onsite. The architecturally renowned centre opened in 1982 and comprises the Barbican Art Gallery, a second gallery The Curve, Barbican Hall, the Barbican Theatre, the Pit, Cinemas One, Two and Three, foyers and public spaces, a library, Lakeside Terrace, a glasshouse conservatory, conference facilities and three restaurants. The City of London Corporation is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre. The Barbican is home to Resident Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra; Associate Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra; Associate Ensembles the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia, and Associate Producer Serious. Our Artistic Associates include Boy Blue Entertainment, Cheek by Jowl and Michael Clark Company. International Associates are Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20171122/1999042-1-a
Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20171122/1999042-1-b
