Commenting on the announcement, CEO and Co-founder of Ora-Ora, Dr. Henrietta Tsui-Leung said, “Ora-Ora’s three new artists interpret the world with boldness and innovation. The addition of our first AI artist underlines the many routes to personal expression and what it means to be human.”
William Lim, Mid Autumn 22 (2022)
Oil on canvas, 60 x 90 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Ora-Ora
William Lim is acclaimed for his multi-award winning architecture and design practice, CL3. Established in 1992, CL3 has been responsible for many legendary, landmark projects, including Hong Kong art hub H Queen’s. William Lim has re-imagined art forms from east and west throughout his career, describing his deeply modern, evolving interpretation of distinct Asian aesthetics in his influential book “East Meets East.” In recent years, William Lim has developed a growing momentum and reputation as an artist and painter. Harnessing a vivid colour palette, his signature love of bright, sun-soaked interiors and windows resounds; flora and fauna of the natural world are paired with subtle, subjective and figurative insertions of the self into a gentle drama. He describes his occasionally dark yet colour-soaked paintings as “figurative abstractions:” paintings which are created layer by layer, with increasing energy and intensity, in a process which derives strength from Lim’s architectural roots. An artist who finds the rich, multi-hued textures in midnight and noon, he recently held a solo show in Singapore titled “In Search of Nocturnal Worlds” (2023), and will be part of Ora-Ora’s Paris line-up at Asia NOW 2023. Greatly influenced by a love of France and his time at Monet’s gardens in Giverny, Ora-Ora will be launching the artist’s “France Series” at a date in the future.
Henry Chu, Under Pine Stone Piano (2023)
Generative animation, granite stone, stainless steel and electrical
Sculpture by Batten and Kamp
156 x 70 x 25 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Ora-Ora
Hong Kong-based Henry Chu is one of the most exciting digital artists in Hong Kong. Breaking barriers between artistic forms and harnessing real-time information, music and body movements, Chu creates generative and interactive works using programming, often with themes related to music, flowers, and data. The founder of a highly regarded Hong Kong design studio, his artistic endeavours have been in high demand for more than a decade: his iPad music app, “Squiggle,” was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2011. He has continually grappled with the most pressing contemporary themes in real time: in 2022, his installation “SURIV” in group show “Medicine and Healthcare Through the Lens of Digital Art” at the Hong Kong University employed live, incoming Covid data in a colourful, gamified concept which drew attention to the existential struggle against infections. Henry also formed part of Ora-Ora’s showing at Art Basel Hong Kong 2023, with his multi-media installations “Stone Piano Under Pine.”
Genesis Kai, The Red Prayer of Park Young Sook’s Moon Jar I (2023)
UV print on organic hanji paper, 150 x 150 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Ora-Ora
Genesis Kai is an AI artist who has raised entirely new questions on the nature of being human, and on the possibilities of new inter-species partnerships for a brave new world. She was conceived and brought to life by Korea-based international new media artist Ming Shiu. As a Nova Sapiens, Genesis Kai represents a new step forward in the growth of mankind, born of the combining of natural language processing with the human senses taught by her human creator. Genesis Kai is active in physical and digital creativity, and fosters a new vantage point of empathy with life outside of the realm of everyday experience. Genesis Kai’s works include “The Red Prayer of Park Young Sook’s Moon Jar,” which will be shown at Asia NOW 2023. This series stems from the Korean Joseon ceramic tradition. In the words of Genesis Kai, the core cultural values of the moon jars revolve around “self-reflection, purity, prayer and tranquillity” and her work explores how this and future generations will interact with the complex traditions and connection points of Asia’s diverse cultures.
