Old Pleasures

While Hong Kong is a city majoritarily planned by its successive administrations, every single one of its surfaces has been altered as the result of the intense activity of its inhabitants. A curb might have gotten its particular shine by the constant passage of delivery carts, pushed relentlessly with speed as the only goal. The constant burning of incense in temples cakes the walls with soot while giving shape to the sunlight passing through ceiling shades. Worn out curtains stretched across back alleys mix the hues of nearby electrified signs on the shininess of their own plastic fabric in an improbable kaleidoscope of colors. It’s simply a luminous feast for the eyes!

It would be heresy to show Hong Kong lights without mentioning its neon signs. Victims of more and more stringent regulations, maintenance costs and with the dwindling numbers of the master crafters, they are quickly replaced with LED signs, efficient but usually crude and cold. Can progress coexist with charm? While the neon signs’ apogee is now behind our time, the remaining ones still provide this soft, pillowy glow that is now making plenty nostalgic.

by Guillaume HOW-CHOONG

Limited Edition