Room Service

Featuring a series of sculptures, film projections along with resting nets, João Vasco Paiva’s installation in Hong Kong places a contemporary spin on the concept of sanctuary.

João Vasco Paiva, installation view of Room Service, an Absolut Art Bar at Potato Head, Hong Kong 2017. Photo courtesy Absolut
Room Service is João Vasco Paiva’s vision of a timeless oasis where the contemporary world and nature coincide. This intimate moment between man and nature forms the basis for this Absolut Art Bar as Paiva melds it with own fascination with the urban environment to redefine the convention of retreat. Featuring a series of sculptures, film projections along with resting nets, Room Service places a contemporary spin on the concept of sanctuary.
João Vasco Paiva, installation view of Room Service, an Absolut Art Bar at Potato Head, Hong Kong 2017. Photo courtesy Absolut
João Vasco Paiva, installation view of Room Service, an Absolut Art Bar at Potato Head, Hong Kong 2017. Photo courtesy Absolut
Taking reference from Hindu vernacular architecture such as ancient temples and sacred sites as well as motifs of residential buildings from present-day life, Paiva coalesces the past with the present. Projection screens made of semitransparent glass and fabric hang from the ceiling and permeate the space. The screens inundate spectators with videos of abandoned places in Hong Kong – from ruins of villages that have been recaptured by nature to daily commodities displayed in shop fronts.
João Vasco Paiva, installation view of Room Service, an Absolut Art Bar at Potato Head, Hong Kong 2017. Photo courtesy Absolut
João Vasco Paiva, installation view of Room Service, an Absolut Art Bar at Potato Head, Hong Kong 2017. Photo courtesy Absolut
Paiva further creates the ambience of retreat and the merging of artificiality with the natural by placing fans throughout the space. These emit a light breeze and move the projection screens, fabricating the motion of trees swaying in the wind. Room Service is a place where time stands still – transporting visitors from the mundane to the mystical, from daily life to the immersive realm of nature.
João Vasco Paiva, installation view of Room Service, an Absolut Art Bar at Potato Head, Hong Kong 2017. Photo courtesy Absolut
João Vasco Paiva, installation view of Room Service, an Absolut Art Bar at Potato Head, Hong Kong 2017. Photo courtesy Absolut

until 2 April 2017
João Vasco Paiva, Room Service
Potato Head
100 Third St., Hong Kong

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