It’s Hong Kong Arts Month this March, and the city is a hive of activity as I arrive; a giant floating Kaws sculpture, Companion, in Victoria Harbour here, a street art festival there, reaching a crescendo with the annual Art Basel Hong Kong, which highlights the works of artists from all over the world. It is here that I find myself wandering around the Collectors Lounge, where only the most exclusive heritage brands display their exhibits, all in a commitment to excellence and the arts.
The doors have not yet opened to the public, and the La Prairie Pavilion is already teeming with stylish guests, from style influencer Yoyo Cao to South Korean actors Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae, amid bursts of Insta-shots and polite fans, all here to peruse the work of Korean light artist Chul-Hyun Ahn. Much like a moth to a flame, I, too, find myself drawn to Chul-Hyun’s main hypnotic sculpture, which at first glance, appears to be a light installation of circular LED rings, aptly called Transparency. Emitting a soft blue-tinged glow, the lights have a surprisingly meditative effect, quieting the cacophony of Hong Kong’s art world around me, tempting the viewer to step into this other dimension, rings of lights illuminating the way to an unseen destination—a feeling of solitude, but one with forward movement.
“Infinite space,” Chul-Hyun tells me, “especially, when you’re standing in front of it, it moves the spirit. At one point you can see your eyes staring back at you, and you realise that you are standing alone, but slowly, you start to see the other person next to you. To me, that is what it means to be human. We live in this world together, but everybody has their own path and you just keep going.”
Korean light artist Chul-Hyun Ahn challenges the viewer to look deeply into the frame of their environment
ILLUMINATING THEORY
The inspiration for Transparency, one of three unique works in this series, comes from the jar of La Prairie’s iconic White Caviar Crème Extraordinaire, which according to Chul-Hyun, is the most perfect shape. “The circular shape ... it is without a beginning or an end. It’s simultaneously simple yet complex in its abilities and meanings. A visual representation of cyclical time, it also evokes the shape of cells and atoms—the building blocks of life.”
And complex, it certainly is. Transparency, much to my surprise, consists of only one LED light, as Chul-Hyun manipulates space with the clever use of mirrors. There’s a sense of purity and precision in both Chul-Hyun’s work and the Swiss luxury skincare brand’s ethos, which makes this a dream collaboration. When asked why life forms—be it people or phototaxic organisms—are drawn to light, Chul-Hyun says, “It is something that is very fascinating. Light draws people in because they can see it easily, and I want the viewer to be still with the light.”
Similarly, the perception of beauty is often associated with radiant skin that glows from within, but light, should not be confused with fairness. “Luminosity, in the end, is what we all want to see on our skin. Instead of appearing pale or white, wouldn’t you rather skin that’s exploding with energy?” asks Dr Daniel Stangl, director of innovation at La Prairie, as we we discuss the obsession with fair skin in certain parts of the world. “You can have beautiful dark brown skin, and it can be radiant because the skin has an even skin tone. If you have that luminosity and glow in the skin, and light radiating from it, your skin is perceived as attractive, healthy, and beautiful.”
THE EQUATION OF LIGHT
As a result, Dr Stangl and his team have been researching ways of achieving optimum luminosity, and seem to have cracked the code. The equation of light, as he calls it, requires two parts: colour and reflection. He explains that the skin’s colour spectrum is made up of naturally occurring pigments associated with different skin layers. These pigments absorb light, a process which turns white light into coloured light, resulting in a reduction of the intensity of the light reflected from the skin, also referred to as luminosity or glow.
With age, these pigments increase, diminishing the natural luminosity of the complexion and leading skin to appear older than it actually is. Here, chromatic disturbances to the layers of skin are at play. The four pigments are grey, from pollutants and dust, yellow, which results in diminishing collagen, brown, which turns up in the form of age spots, and finally red, which results in angry skin, and caused by inflammation from UV stressors and irritants.
The second part of the equation, says Dr Stangl, is the skin’s ability to reflect light, which is impaired when wrinkles and uneven texture develops, dulling natural luminosity. “The potential of skin’s luminosity depends on the amount and the quality of light reflected from the skin. Light can be absorbed by specific molecules in the skin, which we usually refer to as pigments,” says Dr Stangl. “The more homogenous—or smooth—the surface of an object is, the more light is reflected in
one direction only.” And that, is the ultimate goal.
EXTRAORDINARY PLEASURES
Understanding the components of beautiful skin that help emanate radiance from within, La Prairie’s White Caviar Crème Extraordinaire is infused with Lumidose, a potent ingredient exclusive only to La Prairie that is highly effective in inhibiting tyrosinase, the enzyme responsible for forming melanin. “If you look at kojic acid—another brightening ingredient—you’d need 1,000 times more of that molecule to get the same level of inhibition,” says Dr Stangl. “It is important to have a molecule to have such effectiveness at a low level. Lumidose is something really outstanding, and we don’t expect anything in the next couple of years to be better than this.”
Another star ingredient, White Caviar, extracted from golden caviar of sturgeons, is also able to fight pollution-induced stresses, among other things. “There are proteins that are involved in the barrier function, and with a nice barrier, you can fight pollution while smoothing out the surface of the skin,” says Dr Stangl, adding that its anti-inflammatory benefits also help counter redness.
Upon indulging in a little White Caviar ritual of my own the next morning in the comfort of my room, I’m reminded of Leonora Carrington’s quote, “Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence. Everything is transfixed, only the light moves.” As the city comes to life outside my window, a moment of calmness sets the tone of my day before I become part of its tapestry. The incomparable technology behind La Prairie’s skincare is what gives the brand its prestige, and I can’t help but make the connection between all these components coming together to deliver a beauty ritual unlike any other. Much like Chul-Hyun’s journey of the self, La Prairie’s White Caviar range provides an individual journey for the woman who values self-reflection, bringing about an external glow and also radiance from within. Truly, light years ahead.
La Prairie White Caviar Illuminating Pearl Infusion, RM2,250 (30ml)
La Prairie White Caviar Crème Extraordinaire, RM3,290 (60ml)
Available at Parkson, Pavilion KL; Isetan, Suria KLCC; and Isetan, The Gardens Mall.
