The inspiration behind André’s artisan works comes from his personal desire to create a cross-cultural dialogue initiated by the museum, articulating the historical and artistic exchanges that comprise the institution. Fu sought to tap into the deeper context of the museum, exploring through his design the union of the past and the present in line with the Museum’s own vision.

When André first visited the museum site in the summer of 2021, he was struck by the punctuation of light that perforated through the vast cascading ceiling installation into the main atrium. The metallic ceiling’s structure, interpreted by Fu as modern re-interpretation of traditional roofing tiles, evokes fluidity and movement. Meanwhile, its play of light and shadow serves as a visual metaphor for André’s desire to convey a sense of cultural convergence, exchange and dialogue.

From this point of departure, André embarked on visual research into cultural phenomena that conveys a sense of harmonious rhythm: from the interlocking vignette of traditional Chinese roof tiles, to the energy and movement of synchronised dancers, to the fluid tempo of ink-painted brushstrokes.

“Creating these pieces for the museum was a unique opportunity to incorporate the various contextual facets of heritage, culture, and conversation at play. By invoking a sense of movement in each work, I wanted to reflect the exchange of ideas that takes place in a cultural institution of this calibre while simultaneously honouring designs of the past. Each piece tells a narrative of history and technique by blending the customary with the contemporary, creating a visual representation of the evolution of Chinese craft.”

A key highlight for the collaboration is the creation of the 2 public seating installations that will be located within the 2 main atrium spaces. Evoking the spirit of convergence between cultures, Fu has drawn influences from the form of traditional Chinese roof tiles - capturing the silhouettes of these tiles, and their ability to interlock and interlink.

Titled “Eternal Links”, meticulously hand-crafted from Chinese oak in the form of 2 curvilinear tiles, each bench’s curling formations borrows from a shape he sketched initially with two brush strokes. Constructed in solid Chinese oak, each of the thirty benches evokes a depth of visual rigour and presence. When placed together in a spiral format, the installation conveys a poetic feeling of movement and visual dynamic.