Vice President, Advertising, Marketing & Promotion, Changi Airport Group Jan Tan, Managing Director, Travel Retail Asia Pacific – Vanessa Widmann, Managing Director, Asia South, DFS Group Limited, Aymeric Lacroix toast the Year of the Rat
Singapore, January 2020 – Hennessy is proud to celebrate Chinese New Year 2020 by unveiling a ground-breaking collaboration with a leading talent in the international contemporary art scene: Chinese artist Zhang Huan. A strong colour palette underscores the season’s joyful mood as shown at the Hennessy pop-up at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1. Captivating activations have also been set up at Terminals 3 and 4 to showcase Zhang Huan’s intriguing artwork for this tripartite partnership between, Hennessy, DFS Group and Changi Airport.
This Chinese New Year is particularly special because it marks the start of a new cycle with the Year of the Rat. In that spirit, Hennessy commissioned a monumental work of art, called Eaux-de-vie, from Zhang Huan in addition to a design for its special Chinese New Year editions of the Hennessy collection.
Travellers will be able to purchase a limited edition VSOP bottle, a Travel Retail APAC exclusive, only available at Changi Airport.
Zhang’s bright and engaging artwork is displayed across all terminals at Changi Airport through Chinese New Year themed photo booths and limited-edition packaging which highlights the dedicated art of gifting - Travellers can personalise their Hennessy carafes with engraving services, receive limited edition red packets, as well as collect a Changi Airport exclusive – iconic Singapore charms for adorning their Hennessy bottles. At the Terminal 1 pop-up, the artwork has inspired a molecular tasting bar for travellers to immerse themselves in the spirit of Eaux-de-vie. Travellers can discover two different Hennessy VSOP cocktails encapsulated in molecular pearls.
For this Hennessy commission, Zhang Huan sought to create a work of art that would express a reflective quality that captures the essential meditations every New Year brings. “Making art is about using an object as a vehicle to express inner thoughts, or a spiritual side,” the artist explains. “Eaux-de-vie is intended as a natural, living expression.”
A vibrant and resonant dreamscape, Zhang Huan’s Eaux-de-vie captures a universal spirit. Measuring over five meters long, this original painting was directly inspired by Hennessy’s world-famous library of eaux-de-vie, which the artist recasts as a mystical metaphor with layers of meaning. Distilled through the artist’s signature visual language, Hennessy’s precious eaux-de-vie appear like individual cells that come together in a unique whole. Upon closer viewing, red lanterns, grapes and amber cognac become apparent within each cell. The longer the viewer gazes at the work, the more the cells seem to take on a life of their own, floating freely through space like so many symbols of each individual’s place in the universe.
“At Hennessy, we recognise that Travel Retail is an amazing platform to build brand desirability in front of affluent and sophisticated consumers. Crafting experiences is at the heart of Moët Hennessy’s DNA. This Chinese New Year, along with DFS Group and Changi Airport Group, we wanted to combine the traditional with the modernity by presenting customers with a revolutionary molecular tasting experience using Hennessy V.S.O.P. We want to inspire them to re-create a classic cocktail for their own experiences during this festive season,” says Laurent Boidevezi, Moët Hennessy’s Global Travel Retail President.
“Changi Airport Group continues to work with Hennessy and DFS Group to create unique and oneof-a-kind activations. Located next to the iconic Social Tree at Terminal 1, the walk-through Chinese New Year pop-up concept ingeniously combines art and retail to bring novel experiences for our travellers this festive season,” says Teo Chew Hoon, Group Senior Vice President of Airside Concessions, Changi Airport Group.
“At DFS we take pride in curating an ever-growing collection of spirits and experiences to elevate our customers’ journey to uncharted territory. A wide spectrum of creativity and leading innovation ensures a memorable experience for our discerning travelers,” says Brooke Supernaw, Senior Vice President for Spirits, Wine, Tobacco, Food & Gifts, DFS Group.
Open daily from 7am to 12am, the Hennessy pop-up at Changi Airport’s Terminals 1 will retail these special Chinese New Year editions of the Hennessy collection by Zhang Huan from 30th December 2019 until February 9, 2020.
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