This Hermes Exhibition Has A Troupe Of Singing Kelly Bags
What do singing bags, Greek mythology and flying horses have in common? At first glance, not much. But you can find them all cleverly intertwined in On The Wings of Hermes, a playful, one-of-a-kind experience by Hermes that opens to the public next month in Singapore.
Hermes events tend to be one-of-a-kind, whimsical and crucially, has a sense of humour (read: it doesn't take itself too seriously). See HermesFit, the maison's memorable take on a gym last April, or 2022's Hermes in the Making, an extensive show that showcased how their objects are crafted across various ateliers.
Up next is On the Wings of Hermes, an expansive performance piece that takes place July 19 - 28 at Marina Bay Sands Exhibition Expo & Convention Centre. Blending dance, object puppetry, music and cinema, On the Wings of Hermes is a theatric experience created for Hermes by the Belgian duo of director Jaco Van Dormael and choreographer Michele Anne De Mey and their dance company, Astragales.
This original work was first created for Hermes in 2022 and has been touring various global cities like Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Shanghai, before opening here next month - Singapore is the first and only stop in Southeast Asia.
At the heart of the On the Wings of Hermes story is the mythical flying horse Pegasus and its seven foals - FYI, in Greek mythology, Pegasus is the winged wonder that the hero Bellepheron rode on to fight the Chimera monster. Over time however, the Pegasus has come to symbolise poetic, soaring inspiration - an apt metaphor for the maison, which has long infused an aura of whimsy into its narratives.
A highly anticipated segment is likely the part where a group of Hermes Kelly bags of various sizes "perform" together as a humorous opera troupe.
The show is divided into seven segments, each representing one of Pegasus’ foals. These young horses are on a quest to find “lightness”. To convey this abstract concept, dancers, choreographers, and technicians have worked together to create a surreal atmosphere for each part. Imagine a mini circus, a comedic opera featuring singing Kelly bags (pictured here), and a romantic dance where lovers are lifted into a bright blue sky by the wind.
Puppetry and special effects help bring this theatrical experience to life.
The performance and its accompanying 35-minute film creatively use scale, puppetry, and theatrical effects to represent the concept of lightness through imagination, fantasy, and movement - for example, one segment features glove-shaped bird-like objects that appear to fly. The result is a fantastical experience that obliquely reflects Hermes’ artistic ethos, one that tends to march its own idiosyncrasies.
“This work metaphorically illustrates the lightness that is omnipresent at Hermes: in the delicate hands of our craftspeople sewing with two needles at once, in the elegance of materials and in the subtle notes of a perfume. It is an experience which sparks the imagination, designed by the artisans of dreams,” says Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the maison’s artistic director.
On The Wings Of Hermes opens July 19 - 28 at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level B2, 10 Bayfront Avenue. Admission is free but registration is required - do so here.