Themed ‘Dream Bigger, Live Harder, Love Deeper’, Joyce is inviting young artists from the U.K., France, America, Netherland, Singapore and Hong Kong to exhibit in store throughout March and April. A roll call of photography, fashion illustration, painting and installation exhibitions, and the latest showcase is by French artist David Micheli who is known for his cardboard furniture and window display design.
It is serendipity that the twenty-two-year-old David would walk into a cardboard art exhibition, and was so taken that he gave up medical studies straightaway. After twelve years, he reminisces that ‘it was just meant to be. There was no sign or reason. It just happened, perhaps a little strange when I come to think about it.’ Why cardboard? ‘Cheap, easy to find, versatile, and I like the texture’.
David and French graphic artist André collaborated for the Antik Batik Paris shop launch in 1999. The oversized letter window display later exhibited in Tokyo, and gradually drawn attention from all over the world. When asked which artist influences him most? The answer is André. ‘His creation is amazing, and he finds the perfect balance between creativity and commerce. His work made a huge impact on me. I did not set myself out to be a pure artist, because my work would not appear in a museum yet I have to make a living with my creativity. This has always been clear.’
With the reputation gradually building up, request for David started to flow. His signature oversized letter has already endorsed many projects such as Fendi window display for Colette, as well as Cacharel, Balenciaga, Le Bon Marché and Lane Crawford Hong Kong. How does he choose his collaborators? David jokes that ‘one with a big enough window’. Invited by Joyce this time, David designed for the two stores in Admiralty Pacific Place and Tsim Sha Tsui Canton Road. Bird, spider, combat place and small delightful objects in Admiralty are a surprising contrast with oversize elephant and ostrich in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Text: BEBOP
Photo: Anthony Chan
Update: 17 Apr 2009
