Jen Renzi reports from 100% Design Shanghai, here's her second trip diary entry from China.

11:00 AM
The bamboo garden

Inspired by the building’s lofty proportions, Aric and Tobi envisioned a stunning installation to lure visitors through the entry hall and into the main show floor. They filled the cavernous space with a grid of bamboo scaffolding—a ubiquitous feature here in Shanghai, where a new building seemingly sprouts from every corner. “Bamboo is an ancient material, but it’s also come to represent new China, too—a symbol of rapid growth,” explains Aric. The idea was to invert its use; rather than clad a building exterior, scaffolding is used here to fill a void. “It’s very Rachel Whiteread,” notes Tobi. It’s an architectural intervention and a symbolic invitation, too: “a space we’re building to house emerging Chinese design,” say the duo. Looks like it’s already arrived. WOK Media, based in London and Shanghai, hung a series of its creepy-cool eyeballs to keep watch over the front door. Very Big Brother.

Above: Night Watch, by Julie Mathias and Wolfgang Kaeppner of WOKmedia. First shown in London’s Jubilee Park last winter, the crystal orbs are reverse painted—an ancient Chinese art—and illuminated by automotive lights. The installation was organized by Contrasts Gallery, which first invited WOKmedia to Shanghai two years ago. “We came for a six-month residency program and never left,” Julie explains. (They maintain a production studio here and a design studio in London.) WOKmedia’s work will also be shown in New York this fall, part of the opening festivities at the Museum of Arts & Design’s new building.

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