Written by Karen Chan (@ceekayello)
Edited by Jennifer J. Lau
Photographs courtesy of CeeKayEllo

Organised and curated by CeeKayEllo (CKL) and co-presented with First Initiative Foundation, Classic Craft, Modern Meaning, a non-profit local arts and crafts programme that seeks to explore potential modern adaptions of the gradually fading traditional crafts in Hong Kong. By teaming up old masters with contemporary artists, we seek to offer new meanings to our cultural artisanal heritage and, pass on such treasured skills to younger generations both locally and internationally.

Hong Kong’s last birdcage maker, Chan Lok-choi, and mahjong tile maker, Cheung Shun-king, shall each partner up with local artists Amanda Tong and GoHung, as well as international artists Frederic Bussiere and Jun Matsumura. Together in our “Artist in Residence Programme” last year, they have explored, reshaped and created four art pieces that cater towards the modern behaviour of our society — ones that will offer the younger generation new insights into our traditional crafts. These resulting art pieces shall be exhibited on a moving public tram from April to June, 2020. 

Fête Chinoise is happy to hear of Karen’s project and to share what she led her to this fascinating project!

Ideas in the Making: On Local Culture

I grew up abroad for almost 10 years, attending art schools in London, New York and Paris. Upon returning to Hong Kong, I served as a museum and exhibition designer. I had always had a passion to promote knowledge through art and crafts and this Hong Kong art gallery work experience made me realize the limited support and exposure to local artists and designers in the city. Hence I started to organize non-commercial group exhibitions as a platform for talented artists and designers, many of whom were my friends, to nurture their art collections and to showcase their talent outside of the commercial context.

I personally love to explore the themes around our local culture, as I reckon it is what identifies us as a citizen — especially in Hong Kong, a fast-growing, culturally-rich city that is strongly influenced by globalization. Whilst I was abroad, I tried to look for cues of my own identity, or the idea of “home.” These cues could be found in daily objects or activities that one comes across (and can be easily ignored), but their repetitive appearance might actually be what shaped and continues to shape the visual or cultural identity of a city. 

Crafts are an important artistic practice as the functional products speak about our daily routine and have a strong connection to our daily lives or even to our physical bodies. For example, the handmade ceramics cup that we hold, the chair with the hand-sewn fabric that we sit on... So, it is very important for me to hold onto the untold stories and essence of our local crafts, and art is the best medium to express an abstract idea and gives new meanings to them.

Due to our modern behaviour and industrialisation, many industries that rely on local traditional craftsmanship are losing relevance and gradually disappearing from the modern society. With the success of our previous non-profit art exhibitions, we wish to continue our study on different ways to create new meanings for local crafts using contemporary art.

Where to Find Us?

Through our non-commercial programme, I would also like to demonstrate that “art is for all, and accessible from anywhere.” Our venues are not conventional white wall spaces. We are found in front of a clay pot rice restaurant in Temple Street, at a bespoke tailor shop, at a former car park, and now on a public tram! The point? To demonstrate that art should (and could) be appreciated anywhere, and expressed by different mediums, contexts, concepts, and expressions. It could also tie in well with our daily lives, just like our crafts.

I am still very excited since the launch of the exhibition as it is the first time for HK Tramways to exhibit artisanal contemporary crafts on a public moving tram. We have received a lot of good feedback and encouragement that supports our vision and project. It is the most satisfying for me whenever I see or hear people chasing after our tram, and how the artwork surprises them — something meaningful and different in town! Most of our artworks are interactive, as we would also like passengers to see that “art could speak to them,” and that art is reachable and touchable. Our audiences can then learn about the artistic concept and practice.

The Sound of Birdcage Making and Mahjong Tile Carving

Listen to your heart when you think of these two crafts. Do you hear mahjong shuffling with a little bird singing behind you? Do you find the sound familiar or unpleasant? We chose birdcage making and mahjong tile carving because of the culture behind these two beloved crafts.

In the Chinese culture, we value and embrace “noise,” we believe the louder the environment is, the happier and merrier. The louder it is, it might eventually bring more “life” to the household. This might be very different from Western or other cultures. Yet we grow up with these sounds, and it is important for us to understand why are we comfortable with what makes us different from the other cultures.

The crafts we have selected have a strong culture immensely connected with sound. These crafts almost represent “the sounds of Hong Kong.” Thus, this has interested largely to me as a curator, as our crafts have a strong tie to how our society and culture is being shaped. In the future, I hope we can receive more government support and funding for us to have a more extensive programme to involve more local crafts as well!

Through our programmes, we aim to evolve and transform these fading crafts into ones that will continue to sustain into the future. Thank you for joining us in person or virtually!

Exhibition Details

Exhibition period: April 17 - June 23, 2020

Venue: Public moving tram #61 plying in between Shek Tong Tsui Terminus and North Point Terminus and soon to be available in interactive online exhibition!