Incredible response to egg-citing sensory delights at harborfront

Some 200 colorful, luminous ovoids at Tamar Park and the Central and Western District Promenade - created by art collective teamLab - have attracted an overwhelming response, with tickets to the free exhibition this week already fully booked, resulting in some visitors being limited to the booking-free areas.

The organizer, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, said the quota for public booking each night is around 6,000 to 7,000 in the beginning, but this will be reviewed daily.

As part of the large-scale outdoor art project Art@Harbour 2024, the ovoids exhibition - called "teamLab: Continuous" - opened yesterday and will run through June 2.

Those interested in seeing the egg-shaped exhibits at Tamar Park's lawn area can book their sessions for the upcoming week through the Klook system every Monday at noon.

The LCSD has slated nine sessions per night, from 6.30pm to 11pm. Each session lasts 30 minutes, allowing ample time for everyone to enjoy the art.

As of last night, sessions between 6.30pm and 8pm for April 1 to 7 had been fully reserved.

Some people who visited the exhibition said they had noticed the display since the middle of this month as it was being installed and were attracted by the egg-shaped figures.

"At first I thought they were just giant sculptures, but they have more elastic surfaces. The changing colors at nighttime is also quite interesting," said a visitor surnamed Chiu, who brought her daughter to the harborfront last night.

But another visitor, Xu, who works in Wan Chai and came to the harborfront for a walk after dinner, did not grab the chance to enjoy the exhibition in the lawn area as she missed the prebooking.

"I was only told I need to reserve tickets online at the entrance, and same-day tickets released today were only for the 10.30pm session, which would be too late for me."

But at the booking-free areas Xu managed to take photos of the ovoids with some landmarks in the background, which she said reflected the characteristics of Hong Kong.

According to on-site staff, the exhibits in the booking-required and booking-free areas are the same.

"The only difference is that prebooked visitors can enjoy the more intensively placed exhibits on the lawn," one of them said.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, who came by last night, chatted up some visitors, some of whom expressed their views on how to better develop the harborfront.

Yeung said he was pleased to see so many people enjoying the installation.

"After a busy day at work, people could feel the artistic ambience, and the lighting and music at the venue could bring a sense of tranquility to them," he said

To support Art@Harbour 2024, MTR Corp will increase the train frequency of the Island Line and Tsuen Wan Line at night to facilitate access to the Central Harbourfront, where locals and tourists can enjoy various art and cultural activities.

The LCSD published some points to note for people who are visiting the exhibition - including not to slap the installation.

Visitors are also reminded to maintain a quiet environment, to keep moving along but slowly, and to avoid running or prolonged stops.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com