Morgan Wong: Untitled – Expressway

Morgan Wong‘s ambitious new commission Untitled – Expressway is an installation with a component on the floor of the showroom together with multi-channel video work including footage taken while cruising on a route connecting the present heart of Hong Kong and a satellite ‘new town’ embedded in the city’s prehistoric history. The Spirit of Ecstasy, which adorns every Rolls-Royce motor car, will seemingly bear witness to the changes of Hong Kong in an attempt to remind the audience that the process of transformation, and the speed at which it occurs, deviates from humanity.

Untitled – Expressway comprises of abstract video, archive materials and a narration by a fictional character, exhibited by monitor video projections, and also on the video screen in the rear compartment of a Rolls-Royce car. Inside the vehicle the audience experience a virtual voyage in an intimate and timeless manner.

Morgan Wong‘s project during Art Basel in Hong Kong continues the marque’s partnership with Pearl Lam Galleries, following a successful presentation of a new commission in Rolls-Royce’s Singapore showroom by American artist Carlos Rolón/Dzine in January 2015. The work is the latest installation created as part of the Rolls-Royce art programme, which draws together the handcrafted elegance of Rolls-Royce motor cars with contemporary artists around the world.

Morgan Wong‘s practice ranges from performance, video and installation, to works on paper. His new project will continue an on-going study of the key themes of experiencing temporality and the dynamism between Hong Kong and its people, which the artist explored in two of his pivotal past works Untitled – Agnosia Series I (2011) and Journey – Hong Kong (2007).

Morgan Wong said, “With Rolls-Royce’s unique standing in the history of Hong Kong and the brand’s constant pursuit of perfection, I am inspired to embark on a new work that delves into the notion of development through the effortless speed of an automobile. The flashing lights emitted from the abstract videos in Untitled – Expressway will be seemingly fragmented, reminiscent of the city from the eye of an imaginary character inside the vehicle.”