Chanel Mobile Art - is it art?

One never misses the chance to admire Zaha Hadid's architecture. So when I landed in Hong Kong in mid February for the Arts Festival, I was pleasantly surprised to find a piece of Hadid architecture being constructed on top of an old car park (see picture below). Well, the exhibition opened in early March and I took the opportunity to check out Chanel Mobile Art.

Each visitor is given his / her own headset which plays for 30 minutes - the time that will complete a tour. This approach ensured all visitors had a multi-sensual experience of the show - with a gentle voice drawing you into one work after the other. So it's a nice way to spend 30 minutes looking at contemporary art. But then again, was it art? The entire show poked fun at the iconic Chanel quilted handbag. Some of the works were provocative (handbags made with tattooed pigs skin, with the said stuffed pigs nearby ...) It's a tough balancing act when a show like this is sponsored by a big fashion house. I think it worked - at least for a not-too-savvy audience in Hong Kong. It would be interesting to see the reaction of others in New York and London.

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