Walking on the Colourful Side

Colourful ribbons shimmering in the wind

My walk along the harbourfront has become more interesting.

Today we saw a lot of new additions, some of which make us question where our taxpayer dollars are going.

Near the PLA dock in Central is a cordoned off space called Design District HK and there is a giant undulating net tied with 18,000 colourful ribbons. It looks like a rainbow-coloured rectangular carpet waving in the breeze.

Swings anchored to the ground

It happened to be the first day today of the event, and we had to use our LeaveHomeSafe app and take our temperature before going into the space free of charge. Inside there are a number of large green (fake grass) circles on the ground, presumably for social distancing.

It was nice to lie under this art installation called River of Light by artist Patrick Shearn, but after a few minutes of admiring it and taking pictures, then what? We walked back to the entrance nearby and they politely told us we had to walk to the far end of the grounds to exit. 

With no signage saying so it was annoying to have to walk all the way to the end.

Nevertheless we continued on our way eastward and saw the water barriers were removed just past the Wan Chai Star Ferry pier. The area near the pier is covered in fake pink roses, and it's pathetic to see this cheesy floral theme is still used and now with some seating in pink complete with flamingos, or decorated with more fake flowers.

In the distance we saw some rubber tire swings (with fake pink grass) seating and thought we could have some fun on it. But when we sat on them, they didn't move! The rubber tire swings were anchored at the bottom with chains.

Why? WHY?

The letters "V" and "H" for Victoria Harbour

Why can't we swing on these swings?! The authorities are probably terrified someone is going to get hurt.

That was really infuriating.

And to complete the area, there was a "V" and "H" to denote "Victoria Harbour" that people could pose with. Whoohoo.

When we finally arrived at the Wan Chai Harbourfront Promenade, there were what looked like giant bendy straws at the end. When we went around them, they made different percussion sounds like synthesizer bells or xylophone which was interesting. 

It's called Sky Castle designed by Australian multimedia design studio Eness in collaboration with Hattrick Creative.  

So we ran around and around these giant archways where senors triggered them to release sounds and would probably make more "music" if more people went around them.

Giant tubes that make sounds! Great for kids

Perhaps the Hong Kong government realizes people need some things to keep them occupied, and this public art will get them out and about discovering the harbourfront. It also helps that there are giant green arrows on the ground pointing to where people should go...

However at the same time each of the sections have wildly different design elements that aren't very consistent or cohesive. It seems no thought was put to having a consistent theme and each section was determined by a singular group or individual. 

This does not work well. The High Line in New York works so well because the overall look is very consistent, even though the plantings may be different. The benches are quite similar or site specific, but still keep with the same kind of minimalist design. 

Instead on the Hong Kong waterfront it's a hodgepodge of different things for different people, which is understandable to a degree, but they vary so much in terms of their overall look that it's hard to believe they are all connected by one path.

But really, can something be done about those swings?