Dusk to Dawn: A Poetic Tribute to Hong Kong’s Unsung Heroes
SoHo has traditionally been an area affiliated with galleries, and Aesop is an ardent supporter of local communities and art.
So, it may have been a match made in heaven when Aesop debuted “Dusk to Dawn” at its Gough Street store to celebrate Art Month. The store is cut at a corner angle, sitting at the intersection with Aberdeen Street, making it impossible for passersby to miss the installation.
The store, designed by Melbourne-based March Studio, pays tribute to the street’s history as a hub for small printing plants. To showcase and preserve that history, Aesop has retained part of the original structure, including a rough, textured concrete facade that opens to a modular interior clad in over 3,000 glass bricks. Together with steel touches, they evoke the stacked density of Hong Kong’s skyscrapers and impart, quite literally, a cool touch.
At the time of the store opening, Aesop had hosted an open event where staff hand-printed a singular poem over and over again on a vintage press and hung them all over the store. It’s the reason why cards with the iconic “Chance” 《偶然》by the modern Chinese poet Xu Zhimo are still on display at the store. How much more hopelessly romantic could it get?
“我是天空裡的一片雲，
偶爾投影在你的波心–
你不必訝異，
更無須歡喜–
在轉瞬間消滅了蹤影。
你我相逢在黑夜的海上，
你有你的,我有我的，方向；
你記得也好，
最好你忘掉，
在這交會時互放的光亮！”
Local artist Jaffa Lam had observed a cleaner tending to the store window one early morning, which inspired her to reflect on the fundamental representation of the city’s labour, many of whom are unsung heroes who don’t garner much attention.
Developed in collaboration with the Hong Kong Women Workers’ Association to foster a sustainable urban ecosystem, Lam collected umbrella fabric in various shades, arranging and piecing them together on public basketball courts before sending them off for stitching. Tie wraps were left in to give the audience an inkling of what the fabric may have been previously.
The lilac and mint green panels are partially obscured from the front window, but once you step inside the store, you can appreciate the installation in its full chromatic glory. It dominates and drapes over the ensuite sink—a hallmark of Aesop stores. Standing underneath, you feel almost cocooned by a vast, deep sky dotted with unfolding stars. And there’s more to these starts than what meets the eye; workers were free to design them, hence the irregularity and imperfect perfection.
Hong Kongers may recognise Lam’s artwork; her installation piece, Trolley Party, dominated the ceiling space at Art Basel 2023, and other pieces frequently appear in local exhibits. Unlike some artists, she doesn’t overthink who stands under her canopies or how they may interpret her artwork; instead, they are more like crossroads that bring together different people. By extension, it’s interesting to think that the recycled panels used to shelter someone from wind and rain. Each triangular patch has its history, threaded by workers with their own stories to add, weaving together a tapestry of grit and transformation.
My favourite parts of the artwork are the origami-like stars and a sky-blue patch with a rogue white streak like a light leak–almost like when the day breaks and the first hint of sun peeks from behind the skyscrapers. I don’t know if it’s intentional on the artist’s part, but the catchy detail from both sides of the artwork gives a glimmer of quiet hope.
With traditional waking hours, city-goers rarely see dawn or dusk: either we’re still in bed catching up on rest before we begin the day, or we lose track of time at work. But what happens between dusk and dawn? During this period, we get the opportunity to shed our various identities and take the time to pause, reflect, and pamper ourselves.
The installation’s Chinese name《素心數晨夕》is just as beautiful. It references the poem by Tao Yuanming, a prolific poet during the Six Dynasties period, and roughly translates to “count the mornings and evenings wholeheartedly.”
The OCD part of me greatly appreciates that the Aesop team had rearranged all their shelving display to colour-coordinate with the installation, not to mention that their iconic Reverence Aromatique Hand Balm’s name and pale blue packaging perfectly match the piece’s spirit.
While Aesop has always been renowned for its poetic, introspective retail spaces (don’t we all wish our homes looked like that?), it’s quite rare for a complete takeover of their window display on a street-level store. After sundown, the piece comes to life, the colourful canopy lit from within like a lampshade with a stained-glass window feel, a gentle reminder that art can exist everywhere if we take the time to be inquisitive about our surroundings.
That said, travellers looking to delve into the art scene beyond the surface will also be delighted to pick up a copy of the Aesop Art Guide, created in collaboration with Design Anthology to echo Art Month. Available at all Aesop stores, it’s a nifty compilation of notable Aesop branches and hidden gems around the city that will inspire a sensory journey.
“聞多素心人，樂與數晨夕。”
For transparency, the post features press products kindly gifted by the PR team but without obligation to share. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we receive a commission when you click the links and make a purchase.
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