The exhibition Witness to Nature, which investigates the relationship between humanity and nature through 150 works by leading photographers, opens at the new Prada pop-up store at Atrium II, Gateway Arcade of Harbour City in Hong Kong.
Prada has always maintained a dialogue with the most important aspects of human life, investigating, championing and bolstering a range of cultural spheres. Its multidisciplinary approach forges vital connections between fashion and other languages and supports numerous forms of creativity.
Prada Reporter is an innovative concept that draws on this history of exploration. This fall, a series of pop-up stores present a special selection of Prada novelties while also hosting Witness to Nature, a photography exhibition produced in collaboration with Magnum Photos. The agency, which has remained true to its values of excellence, truth, respect and independence since its founding in 1947, represents some of the world’s most renowned photographers.
Within the Prada pop-up store, a selection of images selected by Magnum Photos open an original conversation between Prada and eight acclaimed photographers, reflecting on the complex and constantly evolving relationship between man and nature. Images captured at all four corners of the Earth probe the unsolvable enigma of nature, with its juxtaposition of micro and macro, power and fragility, beauty and danger, while mankind observes and contributes to its perpetual transformation.
Witness to Nature celebrates nature and humankind through four key themes.
For the first theme, Nature & Metropolis, Paolo Pellegrin’s work on transformations in the natural environment and their devastating yet aesthetically sublime effects sits alongside the intense and dreamlike atmosphere of Trent Parke’s intimate shots.
Cristina García Rodero’s ethnological research into popular festivities and rituals converses with Cristina de Middel’s blend of documentary and conceptual photography to investigate the exhibition’s second theme, Costumes & Cultures.
The third theme, Community & Seclusion, is explored through Nanna Heitmann’s photographs, taken from the secluded banks of the Yenisey River in Siberia, and Alec Soth’s records of the mythologies and oddities that proliferate in disconnected communities in the United States.
Finally, the relationship forged between Japanese photographer Hiroji Kubota’s depictions of mystical Chinese mountain landscapes and Iranian artist Newsha Tavakolian’s work on Iran and the effects of global warming offers a fresh perspective on the fourth theme, Eternal & Ephemeral.
The first in Hong Kong pop-up store in the Prada Reporter series opens at Harbour City in Hong Kong from 6 December to 2 January 2024 – the evocative space creates an inviting location at the Atrium II, Gateway Arcade of Harbour Ciy. The furnishings relate explicitly to the theme of the reportage, featuring floor-to-ceiling panels enriched by backlit photo frames and – to add a touch of pop – mannequins depicted in the process of taking pictures as well as furniture in the shape of oversized camera components.
The exclusive selection of garments and accessories that accompanies the project, also inspired by the exhibition’s aesthetics, offers a contemporary take on the iconic roaming photographer’s outfit, playing with layering and camouflage and featuring copious pockets.
There are large and boxy volumes for both men and women, including jackets and baggy trousers made of reps or Re-Nylon, and the essential reporter’s multi-pocket vest in Re-Nylon or cotton, which for women also translates into a midi skirt with a front zip. The men’s knitwear and women’s poplin blouses and twill garments have a slimmer fit. The colour palette also draws unmistakably on the project, incorporating black, green and printed patterns in several variants.
