‘Art Is Play’ brings colorful installations to MGM Macau

“Walala x Play” by Camille Walala

Art Is Play”, a colorful art exhibition, will be open to the public at MGM Macau from tomorrow until September 9.

The exhibition at MGM Art Space features a journey of “awakening, self-discovery and social interaction” through colorful art installations by five international artists.

These artists include Cindy Ng from Macau, Ayumi Adachi from Japan, ‘tomtom’ from Hong Kong, Camille Walala from the United Kingdom and Janice Wong from Singapore.

Inspired by her memories of childhood in Macau, local artist Cindy Ng, who is currently based in Beijing, highlights the unique essence of ink in her art “Mindscape.” 

Layers of curtains are hung in the room with light and shadows shone around them to create an “abstract dreamscape.”

“Macau has inspired me, and my stay here allows me to think of my future works and what I can do with all this lighting, the clouds and the sea,” said Ng during a media preview yesterday.

“I hope we [MGM] can work more. MGM has got the space to extend the work. I hope we can work together to make Macau arts more promoted,” she added.

For Ayumi Adachi, it only takes one “setsuna” (split second), that equals to 0.013 seconds, to awaken consciousness.

The Japanese artist’s exhibition “Setsuna = 0.013 second” features calming sounds and shadows of bubble installation. “Time is very short. It’s a circulation of happenings,” Adachi noted.

In the third room of the art space, vibrant yellow and orange balloons in different sizes ranging from six feet to seven inches have been selected to “inspire joy and happiness,” in the room, which is orange-scented.

“Sugar Glow Garden” by Janice Wong (pictured)

Hong Kong artist “tomtom” described the “Orangelicious” room as a “selfie paradise.”

“The idea that I want to bring is a feeling of summer, freshness and also just to remember childhood,” she explained. “I designed in an organic shape. […] I want people to kind of feel their place on this earth. I want them to feel quite small. That’s what you feel with these giant balloons,” she said.

Meanwhile, “Walala x Play” by UK-based artist Camille Walala exhibits a maze of colors and patterns, using hallways, and mirrors.

The artist has woven inconsistencies and asymmetries throughout the maze that create broken geometries and distorted patterns.

The last room of the space features an edible artwork of MGM Cotai’s celebrity chef, Janice Wong, as she exhibits “Sugar Glow Garden,” featuring 20,000 sugar flowers that have been hand painted with glowing UV paint.

“I wanted to do a different art piece. I’ve never done any artwork like this before,” said Wong, who revealed that 50 kilograms of gum paste were used in the installation.

“The whole idea for this is to bring you through another space. […] I wanted to create something different, push the boundary a lot with food and to give people inspiration as well,” she added.

An opening ceremony for the exhibition is scheduled for this afternoon at MGM Art Space.