MT News

2024.11.23 & 11.24

Venue: Façade of Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

About the Artist:
XRT is a Hong Kong-based collective dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technology and art fusion, creating invaluable artistic experiences. With a primary focus on extended reality and immersive technologies, the team excels in seamlessly integrating “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning”. By transcending the traditional limits of artistic expression, they bring captivating and visionary artwork to life.

Artist Statement:
Tea ware is a remarkable blend of crafts, essential for tea-making and often a canvas of artistic expression. Infused with poetry, calligraphy, seals and paintings, these pieces are transformed from utilitarian tools to vessels for meditative exploration.

As we journeyed through the museum’s history and the stories within the tea ware collections, we envisioned an artwork that reflects the interplay of architecture, history and the artistic realm of tea ware. A light sculpture—a glowing manifestation that shapes meaning in a space—creates a dynamic platform for interaction between the architectural landscape and tea-making tools, intertwining history with artistic expression.

From 2024.11.24

Venue: Activity Room, G/F, Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

About the Artist:
Don’t Believe In Style (DBIS) passionately immerses itself in visionary ideas and transformative experiences, harnessing multidisciplinary talent to craft innovative pathways that blend creation, art and technology. Guided by the ethos “Creative Solutions & Experiences”, the team designs pioneering adventures utilising immersive technology and multimedia artistry to foster social solidarity, unite communities and inspire wonder. Through their artistic vision and interactive display, DBIS invites you to explore new realms of creativity and connection, transforming each interaction into a memorable journey of discovery and engagement.

Artist Statement:
In this journey of exploration, visitors are invited to appreciate the treasures of Museum of Tea Ware — Twelve cups with representing flowers of the months in wucai enamel on display. As they select a cup of their interest, the interactive display will uncover the rich tapestry of artistry embedded within the tea ware.

In a harmonious blend of nature and technology, visitors will have the unique opportunity to nurture one of the 12 enchanting plants on the teacups, guiding its growth with their body gestures. This interactive experience culminates in the creation of a vibrant community virtual garden, a shared space where the nurtured plants of all the visitors flourish together, celebrating a collective bloom of creativity and connection.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware has created three exquisite commemorative postcards. They will be given away in rotation, inviting you to share the tea culture vibe with the world!

Additionally, our gift shop offers a convenient mailing service with special stamps featuring "Selected Tea Ware from China and the World," enabling you to send warm thoughts to your loved ones.

The service is charged at HKD10 per postcard. Please visit Sheung Yu Gift Shop for further details of the service.

With a rich history dating back hundreds of years and a prestigious reputation, Chinese porcelain has been exported around the world. At the same time, Chinese tea culture also enjoys a long tradition. Tea ware has always played a significant role in the evolution of Chinese ceramics. Since the Ming dynasty, the production of export tea ware has flourished. To cater to the diverse demands of the global market, the rapidly developing industry created many distinctive products that blended Chinese and Western styles and that were characterised by both innovation and fusion.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware in 2024, we have teamed up with the Hong Kong Post to launch a commemorative stamp set called "Hong Kong Museums Collection – Selected Tea Ware from China and the World". We have carefully chosen eight teapots from the museum’s collection that showcase the charm of Chinese export tea ware, Western tea ware and foreign imitations of Chinese tea ware and that highlight the development of Chinese tea culture and the influence it has exerted throughout history. The items in the "Selected Tea Ware from China and the World" collection are currently on display in the Gallery 3 (G/F).