Organisers defend 'Inflatable Wonders' after creator says final display not approved

The organisers of the “Inflatable Wonders” (充氣奇蹟) exhibition have defended the show after its original creator said the final display is "very ugly" and did not get her consent. 

The dispute came after Central Venue Management (CVM), the organiser of the event, set up five large-scale inflatable replicas of "world wonders" along the Central Harbourfront. 

Running from 5 July to 11 August, the replicas were created using generative AI technology by Armenian AI artist Joann, who is known as @joooo.ann on social media. At night, the installations are illuminated with colourful lighting effect.

However, Joann told Yahoo News that the final results of the exhibits were "very ugly" and "not well proportioned". She also said the final display did not seek her approval despite having authorised her designs to be used.

She agreed the lighting made them appear even more problematic, and was highly displeased to have her name associated with the "ugly exhibition" despite the concept being hers. Joann felt the poor outcome could have been avoided if the organiser had consulted her beforehand, and wished for the exhibition to be stopped.

Meanwhile, the exhibition has drawn mixed reactions among Hong Kong netizens. Since 4 July, media intelligence firm CARMA has observed close to 3,000 mentions. Of these, 47.3% were negative and 24% were positive.

One of the most common themes among netizens was the concern that the colour white is considered a bad omen in Chinese culture, said CARMA’s HK GM Charles Cheung. “Many mentioned that this is particularly worrying given that one of the main objectives of the exhibition is to attract tourists from mainland China. Additionally, some netizens questioned why a Chinese landmark was not included in the exhibition.”

Critics have gone further by labelling the exhibition as another example of wasted tax money, drawing parallels to past controversial art installations in Hong Kong such as “Continuous” (光漣) at Victoria Harbour and the LED white roses installation at East Kowloon Cultural Centre, Cheung added.

David Rule, managing director of Central Venue Management (CVM), as well as the organiser of SummerFest@Central, said in a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the exhibition is with Joann’s consent and the collaboration doesn't involve any monetary return.

“SummerFest 2024 has been open since 5 July yet we found many photos taken during our setup and testing processes are of poor quality, amateur, non-professional, and didn't capture the completed installations. We believe that most of the people would love the art installations when they come to the venue. In fact, we attracted over 6,000 visitors in the first two days which is very encouraging,” Rule said.

Rule further explained that CVM approached Joann, who is thrilled that it turned her “Inflatable Wonders” digital artworks into real art installations. “‘Inflatable Wonders,’ one of the key programmes of SummerFest, is a non-commercial individual-funded public art project, solely organised by CVM, which is a private company, without any government funding. Free admission to all Hong Kong people and tourists during the entire period.”

Going with The Olympics, CVM has picked a "World" theme for this year's “SummerFest@Central”. The exhibition features five large-scale World Wonders, including the Stonehenge in the UK, the Easter Island Moai in Chile, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Tower of Pisa in Italy, and the Arc de Triomphe in France.

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