In light of the success of "Oasis * Mirage: Hong Kong International Sculpture Symposium 2009", Hong Kong Sculpture Society presents "Awakened Sleepers - Transformed Places; Hong Kong International Sculpture Symposium 2012" at Quarry Bay Park from December 2012 to February 2013. With the fully supported by the Art Promotion Office, 16 Artists from Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas will be invited to take part in demonstrations where they will use timber from retired railway sleepers to “up-cycle” and create sculptures. As they work, the public will be able to observe every stage in the process of sculptural creation - all the way from roughing out, through detailing, to finishing - and get the opportunity to chat with these artists from different backgrounds. Alongside the demonstrations, the symposium will also feature a series of activities including an exhibition, talks that share artists’ experience, guided tours of artworks and student sculpture workshops.

The theme of this Symposium “Awakened Sleepers - Transformed Places” calls for the reflection of the history of the venue and the sleeper material. Quarry Bay Park and the adjacent Taikoo Shing area used to be a shipyard half-a-century ago. The area has been developed into a large scale residential estate many decades ago. The Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery adjacent to the Symposium venue is an architecture designed around a retired fire boat. The timber sleepers are sponsored by the MTR from the retired stock of railway sleepers, which are fading out from their role by replacement with the new generation poly-fiber sleepers. Artists will up-cycle these timber sleepers into individual sculpture, sculpture group, bas-relief or totem pole and cultivate them with new life and enlightenment.

Equipment used: Olympus Pen E-PL3 + Zuiko 14-42/f3.5-5.6 IIR and Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200/f4-5.6