Four sets of site-specific and community-related artworks designed by local artists are on display at four government buildings in Tuen Mun, Stanley, Tung Chung and Tai Kok Tsui, enabling the artists to showcase their talent while arousing a sense of belonging and reminiscence.
Tai Kok Tsui district, with its eclectic mix of old and new buildings, is typical of Hong Kong. Local artist Jino Yeung has translated its nostalgic neighbourhoods into a three-dimensional cityscape in the Tai Kok Tsui Municipal Services Building. She calls it Look at Tai Kok Tsui Step by Step.
She used to have a studio in the district and took the chance to interview many of her former neighbours.
“Tai Kok Tsui is full of Hong Kong stories. I want to use my photos and illustrations to record this community. So I created this artwork,” Ms Yeung says.
It also includes old items collected from the community, including technicians’ toolboxes and hardware items, woven together to present the vanishing culture and neighbourhood stories while highlighting the eclectic mix of residential, industrial and retail areas.
She thoughtfully included several red plastic chairs to allow visitors to sit and consider her creation – and view the ever-changing landscape of the real Tai Kok Tsui through the glass wall beyond her miniature reflection of it.
‘Visualising’ sound
Besides the visual aspects, the natural sounds of a community are also unique. Otto Li created an artwork on display in the Lung Yat Community Hall called Living Soundscape -Tuen Mun. He recorded sounds in the district and transformed the resulting sound waves into sculptures.
“The environmental sound is a reflection of our everyday life. It also reflects the city and the spirit of the city, the spirit of the community,” he said, adding he “visualises” the sound to provide another angle for the audience to rethink experiences in their everyday life.
Mr Li recorded sounds along a 15-minute route from the Tuen Mun city centre, through Tuen Mun Park and along the riverside to arrive at Lung Yat community hall. He converted the sound waves into visual structures that demonstrate the soundtrack’s high and low frequencies.
The soundscape sculpture displayed on a wall is composed of photos of Tuen Mun buildings and landmarks and their reflection in the river. The differences in height represent the changes in sound in the community.
Another sculpture set displayed on the staircase handrail is also an environmental sound recording, this time converted into frequency structures with silhouettes from people’s lives, such as people dancing and singing, shopping and attending a wedding banquet.
Naval designs
Artist Tang Kwok-hin is an indigenous resident of the New Territories. He had never ventured to Stanley on Hong Kong Island’s south side until he was invited to design artwork for its municipal services building.
After exploring the place, he created a series called Here the Ships with the theme of a treasure hunt to narrate a story about Stanley and the sea. He imagines that he is a swaying cabin on a boat, and his five pieces relate to the journey on a boat.
To share art in the community, he invited local seniors to put their own designs on cutouts of fish that he hung on a net as part of his work.
Tapping public spaces
Outside the Tung Chung Municipal Services Building is a novel installation on the staircase and the platform called Existence of the Void.
Local creative team thecaveworkshop observed that there are plenty of public spaces available for use. It wants to inspire people to make full use of these “voids” and explore them through its artwork. The team created a pavilion with a stone lounge at the centre of the platform, and stone chairs on the stairs, to encourage passersby to have a seat and take a good look at the community.
The ARTivating Public Buildings public art project, presented by the Home Affairs Bureau, transforms government buildings into art spaces. The Leisure & Cultural Services Department’s Art Promotion Office invited four groups of local artists to tailor-make artworks for the buildings, to infuse art into our everyday lives, and give people more opportunities to appreciate art.
The exhibition s opened in July and will last for one year. There are free guided tours and related activities at each of the four sites. For details, visit the Art Promotion Office's website.
