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Viewing from the ground floor, five long cords of sleigh bells are hanging from the four-metre-tall ceiling. Each cord forms a U-shape on one end, and the remaining part hangs down to the floor, or runs through the lightwell to the basement floors.

Haegue Yang:
Sonic Rescue Ropes

Haegue Yang:
Sonic Rescue Ropes

12 Mar 2024
Ongoing
Location: Lightwell, Found Space

Commissioned by M+ in 2021–2022 and consisting of gleaming cords of bells, Haegue Yang’s Sonic Rescue Ropes stretch from ceilings of different heights all the way down to the floor. Their shiny visual effect and sublime, resonating sounds conjure shamanistic and pagan associations. Yang took inspiration from the traditional Korean folk tale Sister Sun and Brother Moon, which describes how two siblings became celestial bodies by climbing ropes from the heavens to escape danger on the ground. Yang’s multisensory abstract sculptures transform the soaring architecture of the museum into a mystical yet common civilisational space of aural storytelling and cosmic orientation.

M+ facilitators will occasionally activate the work.

In the M+ Building, the trapezium lightwell runs through the ground floor to basement 2. Long cords of bells are hanging down from the ceiling of the Ground Floor. One of them stretches half-way to basement 1, and another stretch all the way down to basment 2.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2022. Commissioned by M+, 2022. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng, M+, Hong Kong

In the M+ Building, the long cords hanging down from the ceiling are covered with sleigh bells of black, gold, blue and other colours that form spiral patterns.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2022. Commissioned by M+, 2022. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng, M+, Hong Kong

Close-up shot of one of the long cords of bells with a gold-and-black spiral pattern. Sun shines through the lightwell, under which the bells glitter.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2022. Commissioned by M+, 2022. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng, M+, Hong Kong

Looking down to basement 2 with long cords of bells hanging down to the floor. Two visitors are walking pass the cords, appearing blurry.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2021. Commissioned by M+, 2021. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng & Dan Leung, M+, Hong Kong

Looking down to basment 2 with long cords of bells hanging down. In front of a wall covered with planked concrete, the cord covered with silver bells appear like a metal chain.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2021. Commissioned by M+, 2021. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng & Dan Leung, M+, Hong Kong

Close-up shot of one of the long cords of silver bells. In front of another cord at the back is a visitor who is standing upright with her hands clasped in front and looking straight at the cord.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2021. Commissioned by M+, 2021. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng & Dan Leung, M+, Hong Kong

In the M+ Building, the trapezium lightwell runs through the ground floor to basement 2. Long cords of bells are hanging down from the ceiling of the Ground Floor. One of them stretches half-way to basement 1, and another stretch all the way down to basment 2.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2022. Commissioned by M+, 2022. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng, M+, Hong Kong

In the M+ Building, the long cords hanging down from the ceiling are covered with sleigh bells of black, gold, blue and other colours that form spiral patterns.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2022. Commissioned by M+, 2022. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng, M+, Hong Kong

Close-up shot of one of the long cords of bells with a gold-and-black spiral pattern. Sun shines through the lightwell, under which the bells glitter.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2022. Commissioned by M+, 2022. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng, M+, Hong Kong

Looking down to basement 2 with long cords of bells hanging down to the floor. Two visitors are walking pass the cords, appearing blurry.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2021. Commissioned by M+, 2021. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng & Dan Leung, M+, Hong Kong

Looking down to basment 2 with long cords of bells hanging down. In front of a wall covered with planked concrete, the cord covered with silver bells appear like a metal chain.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2021. Commissioned by M+, 2021. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng & Dan Leung, M+, Hong Kong

Close-up shot of one of the long cords of silver bells. In front of another cord at the back is a visitor who is standing upright with her hands clasped in front and looking straight at the cord.

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2021. Commissioned by M+, 2021. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng & Dan Leung, M+, Hong Kong

About the Artist

Haegue Yang’s (b. 1971, South Korea) multidisciplinary practice articulates powerful narratives that explore history, memory, and cultural significance. Her large-scale installations and participatory sculptures are often composed of everyday objects, such as bells, venetian blinds, industrial fans, and spotlights, and can be activated to evoke an emotional bond with the viewer through their visual, tactile, and acoustic qualities.

Half-length portrait of Haegue Yang, a middle-aged woman with dark-brown shoulder-length curly hair. Wearing a black suit jacket, she is standing among a few cords of bells hanged in U-shape, looking into the camera with a serious expression.

Portrait of Haegue Yang. Photo: Cheongjin Keem

Image at top: Haegue Yang. Sonic Rescue Ropes, 2022. Commissioned by M+, 2022. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Lok Cheng, M+, Hong Kong

Membership Benefits

  • Access to the M+ Lounge with your guests
  • Access to M+ Private Viewing on Sunday mornings
  • Priority ticket purchase and member discounts
  • Priority entry for General Admission only
  • Free General Admission access and selected cinema screenings

... and much more

M+ Membership benefits list updated in March 2024

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