Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan's "Passage" Opens Up Windows To The World At Hermès Liat Towers
Such storied, fantastical window installations are part of the French house’s DNA
Photos: Hermès / Edward Hendricks
hermes windows passage Isabel and Alfredo liat towers singapore
From across the street, a sliver of blue sky punctuating grey buildings catches your eye. Then, the sight of a life-sized vessel sailing through this azure horizon conjures up feelings of wanderlust, while a fluffy horse at the boat’s helm draws you in with wonder. And just like that, the bag, wallet, boots and cowboy hat on display, all of which were born from equestrian inspiration, seem incredibly apt for a voyage across the high seas.
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“We are inviting the viewers to connect to the work by reflecting on the idea of movement, may it be physical or life's journey. But also the idea that when the audience starts to look at things 'through a window' it’s also metaphorically an act of a re-examination of one's personal journeys,” Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan
hermes windows passage Isabel and Alfredo liat towers singapore
This is the scene fronting Hermès’ Singapore flagship in Liat Towers. Passage by Filipino artist-storytellers, Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan is a window installation that explores the idea of journeys, “may it be the movement of people between relatively distant geographical locations or one’s pilgrimage in life,” and the “odyssey of leaving home and finding the essence of travel through connections to different places”.
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“In general we relate and connect to the Hermès horsedrawn carriage logo—this was a means of transport and the horse itself has always been a powerful image that embodies the very idea of movement and travel," Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan on selecting Hermès objects for the display
hermes windows passage Isabel and Alfredo liat towers singapore
Such storied, fantastical window worlds are part of Hermès’ legendary DNA, bringing sartorial creations to life in environs dreamt up by global creatives and famed window dressers alike. Each Hermès window around the world is also unique, and in Singapore, Liat Towers stands out in the way it invites and gives free rein to local and international artists to install their works of art. These artists, of course, take the annual theme into account and share similar values to the House.
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“'Mobility' is a word that has various meaning that add on to the layers of narratives of the work in itself. The imagery talks about one’s ability to move, transport and convey; the forms are all metaphors of mobility and transference and the conveyance of narratives through objects,” Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan
hermes windows passage Isabel and Alfredo liat towers singapore
Addressing the mobility and movement of people across borders, boundaries and time, the Aquilizans open up to a world of possibilities with Passage: “We choose transport cardboard boxes as the core material in most of our work mainly because of their connection to the idea of movement/travel (as each box would go from point A to point B), and also because transport moving boxes serve as vessels in a way. The cardboard box in itself talks about the very idea of movement and dislocation in this age and time.”
Passage is on now till early March 2018 at Hermès Liat Towers