Out/About: ANISH KAPOOR & MR WONG
The concept of ‘dinner and a show’ has been around since the dawn of dating. May we propose this fun coupling?
First, take a big long stroll through the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) to see the first major exhibition in Australia by celebrated artist Anish Kapoor, as part of the Sydney International Art Series.
Kapoor has created some of the world’s most ambitious and recognisable contemporary artworks. Influenced by both his Indian heritage and western philosophy, in particular metaphysics, Kapoor’s artworks seek to understand ‘what it is to be human’. This has led to Kapoor’s tireless experimentation with the contrasting forces of light and dark, colour, form, size and medium to challenge perception, developing immersive and sometimes unsettling experiences.
In this MCA selection of key works across two floors of the Museum, you can encounter Kapoor’s powerful artworks up close and personal. Highlights include 1000 Names (1979-80), his early powdered pigment geometric sculptures; Void (1989), a large deep blue sculpture that changes from a convex to a concave form depending on your position; one of the artist’s most ambitious works, the 24-ton Memory (2008) which completely fills one of the MCA’s spacious galleries as if squeezed between the white walls; and the monumental My Red Homeland (2003), which replicates the role of the artist. In this enormous circular sculpture, a large motorised steel blade slowly cuts a course through 25 tons of red wax, endlessly dissecting and re-shaping it into new forms.
By now, you’ll be starving. A meal at Mr Wong is a must-do for any self-respecting Sydney-sider or temporary tourist. Nestled in an unassuming laneway behind The Ivy complex, you will soon forget that you are in the heart of Sydney’s business district. Without a lazy-Susan, silk peacock motif or vinyl chair in sight – Mr Wong is a Chinese restaurant with a big difference. Beautifully curated with authentic Chinese colonial furniture, vintage blue and white china, bountiful floral installations of camellias, vintage art, exposed brick and a knockout weathered mural of a coy Chinese femme – it is all about the faded glamour of 1930s Shanghai. It’s a feast for both the eyes and the mouth. The Cantonese-style menu features over 60 dishes a-la Carte style, as well as a dim-style style option – all with a contemporary twist.
Mr Wong can be found at 3 Bridge Lane Sydney.
Credits: Images of Anish Kapoor from here and Mr Wong from here.
