Human writes history and at the same time, history re-writes human. However, how to read history? how can people position themselves in between current and history?
In 2007, the Antiquities and Monuments Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department obtained the right to conduct an archaeological investigation of the Former Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters. The excavation of this former site leads to a re-discover of the vestige of the Central School, which was built in 1862 and being destroyed during the Second World War. The revitalization of the Central School has a profound significance: not only to the history of Hong Kong, but also points to the future development of this post-colonial city.
Let’s go back to the question, How do we position ourselves in the stream of history? History is just nothing if it cannot be decoded. In another words, history is vivid only when future is desirous of. This moment is thus alive and The Former Central School Envisioning Days take off. This event offer artists chances to response to a historical space, and at the same times, audiences can take this chance to experience the culture, art and site together in one piece. However, I am not going to dig into the history and future plan of the site in this review, but to evaluate the relationship in between art and site in the entire event. If anyone would like to read more about the history and future plan of the Police Married Quarters/ Central School, please kindly browse the following website.
http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkio/view/44/4401260.pdf
http://genforum.genealogy.com/hongkong/messages/141.html
http://www.amo.gov.hk/form/AAB_Paper131_hollywood_content_c.pdf
So, what plays the most important role in between art and site? Robert Irwin once introduce the term site-specific art.
Site-specific art is created to be placed in certain location, the site becomes part of the artwork and vice versa. This kind of artwork is created to be there but not anywhere else, to move the artwork is to destroy the artwork. It raises an inextricable and indivisible relationship between the work and the site. All physical elements such as the length, depth and height of the venue, the shape and condition of the walls and room, the scale and ratio of the square, existing condition of the sunlight, humidity, ventilation will be taken into account when the artist first planning to create their artwork in that particular site. Other than the physical element, the historical element is also one of the important issues. What happened here before? What is going to happen? And what is the relationship between the artwork and the history? All these questions reflect and enforce in the content of the artwork. Furthermore, the site-specific artwork offer a more intense relationship with the outside world and everyday life. It makes art more directly to the realm of the society. People participate in the conceptualization and production, art, seen as a means to reinforce its capacity to penetrate the social issues of the contemporary life with greater impact and meaning. Therefore, artists who participate in this project are attempted to cut into the deepest part of the site culturally and historically.
One of the installations created by Anothermountainman calls To begin with, there isn’t any matter. This installation expresses a sense of memory of emptiness – sometimes people encounter a deep feeling of “I have been here before” even though they know that this is their first time to come to this place, it indicates a lost in abstraction. Certainly, a lot of significant events had happened at the Police Married Quarters/ Central School, the process of building up, destroy and re-build remind the continuous living cycle on earth. Happening and passing is actually born as one. It is a cycle with no start and end, "As there is nothing from the first, where does the dust collect itself?"
In 2007, the Antiquities and Monuments Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department obtained the right to conduct an archaeological investigation of the Former Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters. The excavation of this former site leads to a re-discover of the vestige of the Central School, which was built in 1862 and being destroyed during the Second World War. The revitalization of the Central School has a profound significance: not only to the history of Hong Kong, but also points to the future development of this post-colonial city.
Let’s go back to the question, How do we position ourselves in the stream of history? History is just nothing if it cannot be decoded. In another words, history is vivid only when future is desirous of. This moment is thus alive and The Former Central School Envisioning Days take off. This event offer artists chances to response to a historical space, and at the same times, audiences can take this chance to experience the culture, art and site together in one piece. However, I am not going to dig into the history and future plan of the site in this review, but to evaluate the relationship in between art and site in the entire event. If anyone would like to read more about the history and future plan of the Police Married Quarters/ Central School, please kindly browse the following website.
http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkio/view/44/4401260.pdf
http://genforum.genealogy.com/hongkong/messages/141.html
http://www.amo.gov.hk/form/AAB_Paper131_hollywood_content_c.pdf
So, what plays the most important role in between art and site? Robert Irwin once introduce the term site-specific art.
Site-specific art is created to be placed in certain location, the site becomes part of the artwork and vice versa. This kind of artwork is created to be there but not anywhere else, to move the artwork is to destroy the artwork. It raises an inextricable and indivisible relationship between the work and the site. All physical elements such as the length, depth and height of the venue, the shape and condition of the walls and room, the scale and ratio of the square, existing condition of the sunlight, humidity, ventilation will be taken into account when the artist first planning to create their artwork in that particular site. Other than the physical element, the historical element is also one of the important issues. What happened here before? What is going to happen? And what is the relationship between the artwork and the history? All these questions reflect and enforce in the content of the artwork. Furthermore, the site-specific artwork offer a more intense relationship with the outside world and everyday life. It makes art more directly to the realm of the society. People participate in the conceptualization and production, art, seen as a means to reinforce its capacity to penetrate the social issues of the contemporary life with greater impact and meaning. Therefore, artists who participate in this project are attempted to cut into the deepest part of the site culturally and historically.
One of the installations created by Anothermountainman calls To begin with, there isn’t any matter. This installation expresses a sense of memory of emptiness – sometimes people encounter a deep feeling of “I have been here before” even though they know that this is their first time to come to this place, it indicates a lost in abstraction. Certainly, a lot of significant events had happened at the Police Married Quarters/ Central School, the process of building up, destroy and re-build remind the continuous living cycle on earth. Happening and passing is actually born as one. It is a cycle with no start and end, "As there is nothing from the first, where does the dust collect itself?"
Anothermountainman, To begin with, there isn’t any matter, Paper and Cotton Fabric
Another installation Route, by Leung Ching Man reveals the site in an essentially different direction. Leung hangs a string of colorful film with a tiny black and white drawing at the corner of each film to create a connection of her work and the site. One might not see anything special if they are standing far from the hanging film, but once they get closer they would see that the scene outside is dimly appearing through the film and the tiny black and white drawing is touching the actual scene in the unfilled space in between each film. (Please see the picture below.) The vision of the audience is now being cut into layers and fragments like a puzzle. When one walks from one room to another room, the route of experience is itself a collage.
Leung Ching Man, Route, Flim, B/W Photo on Papers
However, the most impressing part in the whole project is the "football", which placed inside the corner room at the end of the corridor at the upper block. I am not sure if the curators intentionally leave the football there or not. Anyhow, this football tells a story, a story about being-here. It is a matter of timeliness. The footprints of the forefathers create history. They have been here not too long ago, and today, we are being here.
Someone plays the football, someone leaves the football and someone is now looking at the football.
Other Artworks:
Seemanho,
Kum Chi Keung, Room in the Sky, Installation.
Lam Laam Jaffa, I’m not a curator, Installation.
Art loan from:Luk Ching, Yvonne Cheng, Shirley Lee,Lee Lee, Leo Wong, Elsa Wong, Boy Yiu
Below is 2 Video about the installation:
Former Central School Envisioning Days
Date: 21,22,28/2/09 and 1/3/09
Venue: Former Hollywood Rood Police Quarters (35 Aberdeen St., Central District
P.S. For those who missed the exhibition, The Artist Commune will re-exhibit the photos and selective artworks later.
Date: 14-29/03/09
Venue: Unit 12, Cattle Depot Artist Village, 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, Kowloon, HK
Enquiry: 21043322
m63@artist-commune.com
http://www.artist_commune.com/
