"Arts in the City: Re/composing Sai Wan" Press Release

“Zaat Hap”                                                                                                               

Through traditional bamboo crafting, the artist collective “Zaat Hap” responds to the landscape and memories of Sai Wan:

• Rhapsody in Scales uses dragon as its vehicle to connect traditional symbolism, legends of the land and local observation.  The dragon moves through the mountain ridges of western Hong Kong Island and winds along the rise and fall of the hills, transforming bamboo strips into a three-dimensional landscape.
• Shades of Phantoms draws inspiration from the film Rouge, taking the hexagonal palace lantern as its prototype.  With bamboo frames and translucent paper, it creates layer upon layer of light and shadow, as if one has suddenly stepped into a dim alleyway, guiding audiences through parallel and intersecting times.

Extended Activities:

• “Guardians of Sai Wan” Contemporary Bamboo Crafting Workshop — Drawing inspiration from community stories in Kennedy Town, the workshop develops the symbolic figure of the "squirrel".  Participants will experience traditional bamboo crafting techniques, using bamboo strips and paper to shape lively squirrel sculptures, bringing together local stories of Sai Wan at their fingertips and paying tribute to the unsung community heroes.
• “Contemporary Bamboo Crafting and Community Artmaking” Artists Sharing and Demonstration — The artist collective will first unpack the stories behind the project, followed by a live demonstration of various traditional bamboo craft techniques, including splitting (po破) and shaving (soek削) bamboo into strips, as well as basic framing (zaat 紮) and papering (pok 撲) skills.  Participants can also take part in simple hands-on exercises to experience bamboo crafting.

Swing Lam                                                                                                              

Artist Swing Lam transforms history into a walking map, tracing the lingering echoes of Shek Tong Tsui’s entertainment past:

• Promenade Journal takes the form of a walking map for exploration, using play as a way of reading history, and inviting audiences to reimagine the former geography of leisure in Shek Tong Tsui through walking, searching and discovery.

Extended Activities:

• Promenade Journal — Hill Road Roller Coaster — A century ago, Shek Tong Tsui was renowned not only for its entertainment culture, but also for Tai Pak Lau, one of Hong Kong's four major early amusement parks that attracted writers, cultural figures and celebrities.  Taking this history of urban leisure as a starting point, the artist uses his signature open-top bus tour to recreate a roller-coaster ride within the city.
• Promenade Journal — Walking Tour — Using the walking map of Promenade Journal as a point of departure, the artist will guide participants to revisit Shek Tong Tsui and experience the composite entertainment world of the place as it was a century ago.

Larry Shuen                                                                                                              

Artist Larry Shuen explores the heritage sites in Sai Wan, guiding the audience into the scenes of living history:

• Informal Methods of Heritage Research: Observing, Recording and Taking Part in Sai Ying Pun translates what the artist sees and hears during his visits to the heritage sites into images, video, sound and movement records, and gathering them into a book.  The artwork invites audiences to piece together their own understanding of the neighbourhood.

Extended Activities:

• Informal Heritage Research Group — Field Study — Building on the observation methodologies explored in the artwork, the artist will invite participants to look closely at architectural details, traces in the streets and patterns of everyday use, examining the open and closed spaces around heritage sites from their own perspectives, and making records that differ from official historical accounts.
• Informal Heritage Research Group — Soundscape Workshop —Participants will take up the “field sound tasks” designed by the artist, approaching heritage sites to search for and record sounds from different surrounding positions, and working together to create a sonic record belonging to Sai Ying Pun.

Yim Sui-fong                                                                                                              

Artist Yim Sui-fong translates the everyday memories of Sai Wan residents into children's songs to revisit the people, relationships and scenes of Sai Wan’s past:

• Songs Wandering through Sai Wan presents three children’s songs that connect the streets and everyday life of Sai Wan through different voices. Through song, installation, sound and self-made instruments, the artwork invites audiences to encounter Sai Wan again through a child’s eyes while creating new sonic memories together through singing, listening, playing and improvisation.

Extended Activity:

• Songs Wandering through Sai Wan — Children’s Song Writing Workshop — The artist will introduce the creative ideas and anecdotes behind Songs Wandering through Sai Wan, analyse different forms of children’s songs, and invite participants to improvise and rewrite Cantonese nursery rhymes together.  The workshop will conclude with a group singing of the newly written lyrics.  This workshop comprises four sessions designed for different age groups, inviting participants to draw on their own childhood memories and collectively create songs inspired by Sai Wan.