Name: Bobo Rok
Hometown:
Xi’An / Hong Kong
Now living in: Shanghai
Please tell us about your work
Museum of O is an immersive, interactive exhibition, focusing on Chinese culture and Chinese colours through a modern lens. It was opened to public from December 2018 until May 2019 in a 2,000 square meters space in Jing’an, Shanghai.
The concept behind this exhibition is a patchwork of art pieces by different artists, each of them delivering a unique interpretation on China. All art pieces were immersive art installations specifically created for the exhibition. From a Chinese graffiti artist, to a Spanish photographer; from an American light and space artist, to porcelain painters from Jingdezhen; from a French pastry chef, to a Shanghainese 3D artist; … we gave young artists the opportunity to present large creations to a numerous audience, and challenged more experienced artists to get out of their comfort zone. The result was a colourful, energetic space triggering the five senses of the visitors with art to see, art to touch and art to taste.
What inspired you to start doing this?
I love immersive experiences. I like to be taken to a new world, dive into it, change perspective. I like to be active and interact. I was dreaming of an exhibition that would allow all this, with Chinese culture as its central theme. I started describing that dream to friends, and artist friends, and it was resonating with a lot of them. When I said, maybe I should create this exhibition of my dreams, they were all super enthusiastic and offered to help. So I created it.
Who do you create your work for?
I create my work to make Chinese people proud of their culture.
What are some of the projects you are most proud of?
Chinese culture is extremely rich and deep. Accompanying artists to dig in this culture, and invite visitors on this journey in Modern China was the most rewarding project in my life as an entrepreneur. The very positive comments from the audience, their new understanding and awakening about Chinese culture made me extremely proud as a creator, and as a Chinese.
How has Chinese culture shaped your work?
For a long time, Chinese culture was considered traditional, and only traditional, by Chinese themselves. Everything Chinese was seen as traditional, in the sense that it was not modern. And everything modern could not be Chinese. I wanted to reverse this! I wanted to show that traditional Chinese elements could be very modern. This was the tension on which was based the exhibition, and I believe it succeeded in making our Chinese visitors proud of their roots while at the same time seeing the modernity Chinese culture holds in itself.
What is your dream for your brand?
I want to interact more with Chinese craftsmen. I want to build a bridge between Chinese craftsmen and artists/designers/architects to create art installations mixing modern vision and ancient techniques. I told you! I love this tension between old and new, antique and modern.
Discover more about Bobo and Museum of O
Instagram: @bobo_rok & @museumofo
