Lucas Zanotto on filling Harbour City with his creations and play areas

Italian designer, animator and director Lucas Zanotto has taken over Harbour City with his iconic kinetic characters and playful activity areas. Jaz Kong talks to the master of simplicity and emotion about what he hopes Hongkongers take away from Join the Loop

According to lucas Zanotto, pineapple on pizza is a huge no. Despite this major palate debate between the Italian designer, animator and director and us Hongkongers, one thing we do have in common is the pursuit of happiness and mindfulness. So it’s particularly exciting that Zanotto, in partnership with Harbour City, has brought his iconic kinetic characters to our shores for the first time.

If you’ve seen Zanotto’s kinetic characters on social media platforms, you know how satisfying it is to watch their looping animations. At first glance, they all spark joy – but if you look closer, the characters’ expressions often change as the animation progresses, most commonly from a frowning face to a smiling one. Who knew that a set of rolling eyes and curving lines would echo our own feelings so closely?

On display until September 1, Join the Loop features a wide range of Zanotto’s work including digital art, art toys, paintings and large-scale installations across Harbour City. It includes a gallery exhibition and even jumps on the Olympics bandwagon with a series of sports-themed activity areas, making it a definite yes – not just for Hong Kong kids but also for the inner child in all adults.

Zanotto is a jack-of-all-trades, famously known on the Internet for his original animations and sounds. He’s also an author, product designer, film director, storyteller, owner of children’s-content brand Yatatoy, and most importantly, a husband and father.

From the Alps of Northern Italy, Zanotto now lives with his family in Finland. “We’ve lived in different places and with the kids we thought we wanted something very calm and easy,” he explains. This mentality definitely speaks loudly in Zanotto’s works, and the most admirable part is his ability to turn an “emotional rollercoaster” into something visible, visual and cute. When they pop up on our screens, these looping animations are appealing enough for us not to scroll away and, after a short while, viewers often find themselves mindlessly immersed and facing the change of emotion directly.

While the characters speak directly to our hearts, it has been quite an expedition for Zanotto (coincidentally, he loves mountain biking adventures). “I came from a background of product design, and slowly started to work in areas of making and designing products before moving into filmmaking and animation. Then I did my main job directing different short films and commercials for 10 years,” he says. “At some point, I just started playing, which I did a lot in animation. I just like to have a combination of design with photography, with lights, with movement, with music. So basically, animation was the one thing that I could put everything in.

“Then came the eyes and facial expressions plus experimenting with 3D software, and somehow the characters just kicked off with audiences. That opened up a whole new world for me that I started to create my own brand with my name. The last five years have been very exciting with all these opportunities. But more proudly so, it is the ability to make people feel with my creations. I’m very proud of it.”

Note that Zanotto said “feel”. Not setting out to just make people happy or excited or upbeat, Zanotto’s characters go through emotional changes with us. “That’s just like life, right? Hopefully we are happy a bit longer than we are sad.”

Zanotto’s aesthetics have been endorsed by many, including international luxury brands such as Hermès and Lexus. He has created a new dimension for us with simple shapes and streamlined designs. “I like to reduce things and I’ve always been attracted by simplicity in design. For example, if I have to break down into two simple shapes, how can I create a verb?” says. “It’s a fun process

playing with these super simple primitive forms, by putting them together with a certain colour theme and perhaps a pair of eyes, you start to see something. And then combine that with some kinetic parts of movement, it becomes my creative language. Indeed, colours are important too as they create arrays of emotions.” If you’re a fellow star-sign believer, and if there are any earth signs in your chart, you would probably agree that such repetition in Zanotto’s digital works is almost gratifying. “It’s a fun exercise coming up with ways to match the last frame of the loop with the first. For me, like running, repetition is very meditative. It’s something enjoyable, calming and relaxing to me. I think we can all benefit from rhythmic things.”

If you’re Instagram-searching Zanotto’s works right now, great – however, if there’s one thing better than that, it’s viewing his works on massive screens all around Harbour City. Join the Loop consists of one dedicated gallery show featuring over 20 lighthearted multimedia artworks, four sports-themed fun areas and two photo spots. Seeing Zanotto’s works in real life almost feels like Night at the Museum, with characters jumping out from our screens into the real world.

Looping in Hong Kong, Zanotto’s first solo show in Hong Kong, explores the intersection of whimsy and depth while challenging the idea that art must be serious to be profound. In addition to the video work that we’re familiar with, he has created 10 brand-new paintings for this exhibition, including the Hong Kong Selfie series. “Everything has its own charm, but spending more time painting is also meditative. It’s also a good thing to move away from concentrating on the screen,” the artist says. “It’s the same exercise with everything, from animation to paints to sculptures to everything. The technique is to create an empathy or a character or an emotion from simple geometric forms.”

Outside of the gallery space is heaven for children and adults alike. “We just wanted to create a new playground, to make kids come and have fun! Play is a keyword for everything in my life. And it’s especially important for kids to learn through play.” In this aspect, Zanotto is intrigued by his kids’ education in Finland as well. “The beginning of education is very open, very free. There’s no challenge in the way of marks or grades. Students learn through topics instead of subjects. In turn, they get to play a lot and I find this kind of education very interesting.”

If the Olympic Games are sending you waves of adrenaline, make good use of it at Zanotto’s playgrounds. Who would have thought there would ever be a mini beach next to Victoria Harbour? Yet there it is, alongside a dreamy bubbly world and a tricycle track. Zanotto also understands stress – and how to destress. It’s a thrill to fight off anxiety at the Happy Flipping Boxing Ring with over 30 giant inflatable tumblers set against the Hong Kong skyline. The Pool of Mixed Feeling is not to be missed either – it’s a swimming pool filled with giant cushions and beanbags in the form of Zanotto’s characters instead of water, inviting players to “dive” into their emotions.

“I appreciate any form of interaction with my installations,” Zanotto says. “Smiles and joy would be expected to be the main thing, but my goal is just to spark some curiosity for kids or any passerby. Play is the most important thing!”

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