Cao Zhen caozhen0806@126.com THIS past Saturday, OCT Art & Design Gallery in Nanshan District was transformed into a “midnight snack” market for its annual “Night at the Gallery” event, featuring fun refreshments, modern dance routines and interactive activities to tie in with its ongoing “Eating Design” exhibition. Upon arriving at the gallery at 7 p.m., visitors were welcomed by two dancers waving extra long chopsticks at the entrance. Then, with a mix of rock, Cantopop, rumba and Latin jazz music playing in the background, the dancers joined three other dancers who held bamboo steamers in the gallery, giving a modern interpretive dance performance. The dance, titled “Dim Sum Hour,” presented the unique culinary art of Guangdong, a centuries-old relaxing dining experience, in a reminiscent manner. Visitors were then invited to experience Dutch designer Marije Vogelzang’s works from the “Eating Design” exhibition. “Grazing City Scapes,” an activity involving eating desserts without using utensils, was designed to provoke humans’ sensuous and animalistic side. “Edible Reflections” used feeding, an intimate human act, to connect people. “Bits N’Bytes” is a huge conveyor belt where snacks, fruits and notes were transported to the participants who exchanged notes while eating. Other projects question food industry and health, such as gun-shaped lollipops that represent what sugar does to your body and root vegetables baked in clay to remind people of where real food originates. Vogelzang, hailing from Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, has been engaging in eating design and subjects surrounding food and eating, such as psychology, ritual, agriculture, etiquette, history and ecology, for 20 years. This is her first time exhibiting her eating-themed projects in China. The exhibition ends March 4. At Saturday’s event, Shenzhen artist Nut Brother also served self-defense chili spray with noodles, which diners can either use as seasoning or carry as a real weapon. In its third year, OCT Art & Design Gallery’s “Night at the Gallery” event gives locals an opportunity to experience contemporary art in a fun way.Dancers waving extra long chopsticks welcome visitors to OCT Art & Design Gallery’s annual “Night at the Gallery” event. Cao Zhen | 