Carnival (2007)

Digital photograph
9” x 12” Light Box (5cm thick)
From the “Hongkong City Space” series

Edition 1 was presented at the Asia Hotel Art Fair, Feb 25-27, 2011, Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Jiang Art Gallery.

Carnival (2007) was a casual discovery while I was drifting through the streets of Hong Kong Island on the eve of Chinese New Year.

Ferris wheels and carousals make me feel sad. It seems there's always one of each in most European cities I have visited. To me, they are symbols of nostalgia, the past trying to touch up its frailty as it almost fades out into the infinite void of nothingness.

It was a magical moment that day during the magical hour -- that is exactly the Hong Kong in my mind, gloomy, lethargic, yet momumental. It is a sight that will never be again.

Notes on location:

The carnival in view was a temporary event sponsored by insurance business AIA built on the former Tamer Site (naval base during the British colinial period). Since 1997, the site has bee put to various cultural use, such as the HK-Berlin art exchange, fairs for local products and so on. The latest decision is to erect a new HK government building complex on this piece of land between Queensway and Central.

Lightbox view: