Hong Kong’s Central harbourfront has been given a splash of colour with a recently unveiled 220-metre-long (722 feet) hoarding covered in illustrations at the construction site of the city’s most expensive plot of commercial land to coincide with “Art March”.
The revamped temporary facade was said to be largest of its kind for a local construction site, with colourful depictions of well-known spots such as The Peak and the Central piers, as well as Star Ferry vessels and franchised buses against the backdrop of the city’s mountainous landscape.
The project’s mastermind, Cathy Lee Chui Chi-kei, daughter-in-law of Henderson Land Development founder Lee Shau-kee, said on Monday the decoration at the company’s site aimed to give residents a chance to pause amid their busy lives.
“I wanted to create an art mural that doubles as an urban oasis from the demands of our everyday life – a reminder to slow down, unplug from our devices, appreciate the present and find meaning in the seemingly ordinary, as residents, office workers and visitors alike pass by Central,” said Lee Chui, who is married to Martin Lee Ka-shing, chairman and managing director of Henderson Land.
Martin Lee’s father was rated Hong Kong’s No 2 richest person after “superman” Li Ka-shing by Forbes in 2024.
Local artists Elaine Chiu, a specialist in landscape painting, and Zoie Lam, a fashion designer by trade, produced the illustrations for the project under the theme “Realising Central Cityscapes”. The project was funded by Henderson Land.
Labelled “Art March” by the government, this month hosts a spate of arts and culture events such as the three-day high-profile International Cultural Summit at the West Kowloon Cultural District, which debuted on Sunday, as well as Art Basel and Art Central, which begin later in the week.
Lee Chui said the revamped facade expressed the modern side of the city through bright colours and the artists’ observations, with the giant site serving as an ideal canvas.
“The vast scale and the strategic location of Site 3 have played a significant role in how I envisioned this art project. When I was young, I would come across extraordinary displays of art on my walk to and from school every day,” she said.
She described the pair of artists behind the project as “breathing new life into our built environment and infusing it with a human touch”.
“With Elaine adopting a more conventional method of canvas painting and Zoie employing digital technology to help bring her vision to life, their distinct interpretations of Hong Kong’s cityscapes serve as a meeting point that bridges the realms of the past, the present and the future,” she said.
The hoarding wraps around a parcel of land known as New Central Harbourfront Site 3, also dubbed the “land king”. The company acquired the site for HK$50.8 billion (US$6.5 billion) in 2021, a record for commercial land in the city, with the first phase of the development expected to be completed in 2027.
Located north of the city’s old General Post Office and next to the International Finance Centre, the site will be developed for social and commercial use. It includes a massive garden and commercial spaces for offices, retail and entertainment.
The hoarding is also part the company’s “Henderson Arts @ Central” campaign this month in collaboration with six international galleries at H Queen’s, an art and lifestyle complex in central business district.
“These exciting happenings aim to connect the community through art and bolster Hong Kong’s development as an ‘East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange’,” the developer said.
