Exhibition: The Day the Gods Stopped Laughing

1959年，馬克•羅思科接受了紐約四季酒店餐廳的一項創作委約。「我希望能畫點甚麼，使在這裏吃飯的混蛋們都倒胃口。」羅思科這話聽起來可是戲劇性十足，但他終告失敗，還把錢退了回去，因為他發現「人們如今甚麼都可以承受得住。」我很好奇自己在這家高級餐廳中能做些甚麼，同時回應是次展覽的主題。

《老細請》邀請餐廳顧客探索放在吧檯上的飲品單。顧客從一列充滿戲劇性的指令中選取一項並將其表演出來，便可贏得一杯免費飲品。《神秘顧客》是一份由專業的神秘顧客受邀撰寫的報告。在與藝術家討論之後，一位神秘顧客將會悄悄到訪都爹利會館出席展覽開幕酒會，進行評價。這份評價報告會以商業標準去評估此次「藝術在餐廳」的體驗。《對白設計書》是咖啡桌上一本小巧的書，顧客們可以在享用飲品或與友伴閒聊時瀏覽閱讀。這本書並沒有美麗精緻和色彩繽紛的圖片，而是記載預先寫好的設計對白，幫助顧客在語塞之時可以照本直讀。《請慢用！》則是一個再現場景，描寫正在香港發生的「麥難民」現象以及相關問題。

香港都爹利會館
2018年8月2日至9月23日

老細請, 2018
夾在酒吧飲品餐牌內的便條
19 厘米 x 9 厘米

神秘訪客, 2018
紙上數碼打印
67 厘米 × 47 厘米

對白設計書, 2018
藝術家書籍
15 厘米 × 10 厘米 × 1.5 厘米, 100 頁

請慢用, 2018
混合媒體
衣物, 人體模型, 塑膠食物模型
尺寸可變

In 1959, Mark Rothko accepted a commission from Four Seasons restaurant in New York City. “I hope to paint something that will ruin the appetite of every son of a bitch who ever eats in that room”. Sounds dramatic enough, but he failed and returned the money because he found that ‘people can stand anything these days’. I was curious about what I could do in a high-end restaurant, while contributing to the context of this exhibition.

On the House invites visitors to discover a drink menu on the bar table. Visitors choose from a list of dramatic instructions and perform to get a complimentary drink. Mystery Visitor is a commissioned report written by a professional mystery shopper. After discussion with the artist, a scenario is created and the mystery shopper pays a secret visit during the exhibition opening reception. The evaluation assesses the experience of the art exhibition held in the restaurant through common business concerns. Small Talk is a small coffee-table book that visitors can flip through while having a drink and chatting with their peers. Instead of beautiful and colorful pictures, this book collects pre-written dialogues ( offered for the visitors to act out when they run out of words. Enjoy Your Meal! is a scene recreated to depict the McRefugee phenomenon and related issues happening in Hong Kong.

Duddell’s, Hong Kong
2 Aug – 23 Sep 2018

On the House, 2018
Note tucked in drink menu at the bar
19 cm x 9 cm

Mystery Visitor, 2018
Digital print on paper
67 cm × 47 cm

Small Talk, 2018
Artist’s book
15 cm × 10 cm × 1.5 cm, 100 pages

Enjoy Your Meal!, 2018
Clothing, dummy, plastic food model
Dimension variable