Oil Street Hong Kong transformed into a public bathhouse with heart-shaped bath and colorful soap wall for photo check-in

Public Bathhouse Exploring the relationship between intimacy and public accessibility

In addition to their basic bathing function, public bathhouses also serve as spaces for community interaction, where residents can relax and connect. Home bathrooms, on the other hand, offer complete privacy, allowing for convenient access anytime without disturbance.

When you step into the exhibition hall, you will first see the yukata wall.

For this exhibition, Hong Kong artist Chan Wai-lap visited more than 20 grocery stores from different cities to buy all kinds of soaps. In addition to exhibiting them on site, he also molded more than 2,000 ceramic soaps of different colors and shapes to form a colorful soap wall art installation. This is a metaphor for the uniqueness of individuals and the diverse appearance of group coexistence in interpersonal relationships.

Artist Chan Wai-lap visited grocery stores in more than 20 places to buy a variety of soaps. There is a slipper rack at the entrance, visitors are welcome to change slippers and walk into the bath to check in. Low stools for visitors to change their shoes. The trick of this shower position is that the mirror actually reflects the person next to you.

Chan Wai-lap even went to Jingdezhen to learn how to fire ceramics, creating special tiles and patterns for the exhibition. The "showerhead" on the colourful soap wall will periodically spray mist, creating the effect of a real bathhouse and providing visitors with an immersive sensory experience. There is also a yukata wall, Japanese-style sitting shower area and slipper rack, welcoming visitors to change into slippers and take photos in the bath.

The focus of the exhibition is the heart-shaped bath " LEVO LOVE "and the colorful soap wall. Various ceramic soaps are displayed on the wall, is a metaphor for the uniqueness of individuals and the diversity of group coexistence in interpersonal relationships. Chan Wai-lap bought all kinds of soaps and molded them into more than 2,000 ceramic soaps, forming a colorful soap wall. The "shower head" on the soap wall will spray mist at regular intervals to create the effect of a real bathhouse.

The highlighted artwork of the event was undoubtedly the heart-shaped bath " LEVO LOVE " composed of over 1,200 handmade ceramic tiles. The heart-shaped bath not only evokes direct associations with love and romance, but Chan Wai-lap also imbues this symbol with a spiritual representation of emotions, inviting visitors to step into the bath and cleverly blurring the lines between public and private, exploring a unique sensory journey about distance, intimacy, and publicness.As seen at the scene, visitors were very excited to walk into the heart-shaped bath, posing for photos and checking in with different poses, which was quite enjoyable.

The highlight of the event was the heart-shaped bath "LEVO LOVE " composed of more than 1,200 handmade ceramic tiles.

In recent years, Chan Wai-lap has been passionate about documenting public swimming pools to explore the relationship between public and private, self and others, and the interplay of these concepts. Continuing his "Swimming" series, inspired by the bathing culture across time and space around the world, this exhibition has specially realized a glass house on Oil Street to construct a Hong Kong version of the "Bathhouse", exploring how art can transform an intimate bathing space into an open and participatory social space.

Many visitors enthusiastically took photos inside the heart-shaped bath. Many visitors enthusiastically took photos inside the heart-shaped bath. The meaning of the exhibition's name

The name of this bathhouse comes from a 2016 British study on left-spiral snails and the viral story of left-spiral snail Jeremy. The study found that their unique left-spiral shells and internal structures make it difficult for them to find mates in the natural environment. Chan Wai-lap hopes to express, through a space filled with snails and heart-shaped elements, that we are all "left-spiral snails," searching for our other half in loneliness, and to think about how we should use public spaces to develop subtle relationships with strangers.

The bathhouse is named after a 2016 British study on left-spiral snails Jeremy , hence the snail figure placed on the reception desk.

Discover the Oil Street Art Space: Oi!

This"Jeremy's Bathhouse" exhibition, besides its interesting content, also has many aspects worth exploring in its venue "Oi!" (the meaning of the Chinese name is "Oil Street Realization") .Firstly, the name "Oil Street Realization" is a homophone for the address "No. 12 Oil Street," symbolizing this place as a starting point to integrate art into people's lives through different experiences, thus realizing the vision of "Oil Street Realization"—to provide a platform and opportunity for artists to realize their dreams. As for the English name "Oi!", it's a call to action, inviting people to create together, and also evokes "Oil" and "Oil Street," connecting with the Chinese name.

The exhibition was held in a glass house "Oi! Glassie" within the Oil Street venue "Oi!". The exhibition venue is near the MTR Fortress Hill Station.

In addition to the glass house where the exhibition is being held, part of "Oi!" is a historic building completed in 1908. It was once a yacht clubhouse located by the sea and is now listed as a Grade II historic building in Hong Kong.Following the North Point reclamation project in the 1930s, it was subsequently rezoned as staff quarters for the Hong Kong Government Supplies Department and an archaeological storage warehouse for the Antiquities and Monuments Office.

Later, under the planning of the Art Promotion Office, this historic building with its red brick and tile roof was revitalized and restored, and renamed "Oi!"（Chinese name "Oil Street Realization" )in 2013 then opened to the public as an art space. "Oil" underwent an expansion plan, connecting with the adjacent outdoor space. The new expansion space opened in 2022, providing more outdoor and indoor space for various art exhibitions and public participation activities.

The red-brick and tile-roofed building was completed in 1908(Photo source: "Oi!" official website)

Oi! Spotlight——Jeremy's Bathhouse Date： From Now to 30 August Venue： the "Oi! Glassie" inside "Oi!",12 Oil Street, North Point, Hong Kong Opening Hours： Monday 2pm-8pm ，Tuesday to Sunday 10am – 8pm Admission Fee： Free Transportation： MTR Fortress Hill Station Exit A Website： https://www.apo.hk/tc/web/apo/oi_spotlight_jeremys_bathhouse.html