台北散漫(二)–看戲天

看戲天。一早起來跑去牯嶺街看第四屆新潮實驗室的<24H>，再接力跑城市舞台看台北藝術節的<低迴李爾王>。

在我心目中，牯嶺街小劇場就是香港的牛棚前進進，自己心底的幻想，其實之前從未去過牯嶺街看戲。

新潮實驗室已經是第四屆了，看過往的節目單都非常吸引；New Wave啊，想來該是新鮮好玩的玩意。這一屆在策展人林人中的策劃之下，好玩的是「24H」，就是各種創作日以繼夜的在牯嶺街小劇場這小建築的不同角落接力發生。我只看了劇場演出的部分，就是三齣戲在三層樓不同的地方演，觀眾看完一齣就得流動往另一層看下一個戲。

演出的主題都是從村上龍的小說<到處存在的場所　到處不存在的我>作為引發點。

(太多東西想記，來不及好好寫了，先把重點記下來再說!)

布魯德13蟬

在小小的黑盒裏面，置著幾張公園椅、一支當眼的公園燈、一塊板鞦韆，地面上舖散著落葉，中間還有一個小沙池。觀眾坐在三面的幾何黑木盒上，不是平板一行行的、而是三個的構造都不同的黑木盒，有些觀眾還得坐得好高，雙腳懸吊著。舖著長方形綠色假草皮的都是觀眾可以坐的位置。

我找個中央的位子坐下來，正面對著的牆壁，在放一些投影。

以人來人往個體穿插的方式開場

不時間以帶點瘋狂戲謔的小段舞蹈

每個人講一下自己的故事

兩個人在公園建立起奇妙的關係

黑面琵鷺的腳踏車

視覺畫面很強，氣氛一下子就帶出來了

氣球、白色煙霧、口罩加上呼吸聲，對「空氣」這個看不見的元素強調

雖說在創作時是以音樂為主導再配畫，但亦誠如創作人在場刊中所言，空間的感覺後來變得更重要了。個人覺得處理的非常好，即便是白天，二樓的表演空間不是黑暗的，陽光透灑進來，但氣氛卻出來了；陽光成為最重要的燈光來源。

頗為舞蹈化，差不多幾乎是個純舞表演了。

音樂人非常好！引領著整個戲…

我還滿喜歡這個戲。

手機場

獨角戲。故事講的是安琪是表演工作者，但受著親友的壓力，現在決定要去美國唸書，去一個新環境。從踏入飛機場開始。手機響起，經紀人說明天下午有個跟Johny Depp合演的戲的試鏡，機會非常大。超好的機會，怎麼偏偏在她千辛萬苦下定決心上飛機去開展新生活的時候來呢？機場中，飛機快要起飛，手機響個不停。安琪在不同人不同的意見不同的拉扯中掙扎。

很生活化，就像跟她在聊天一樣；不過於我是太生活化了，好像沒經過去蕪存菁或甚麼處理般，直接把整個場景呈現在劇場裏…但必須說，安琪王演的不錯，真的很有真實感，幾乎想要過去抱一抱她。

還想起shirlee在blog裏寫的，活脫幾乎是一樣！

牯嶺街blog:http://www.wretch.cc/blog/gltheatre

——————-

低迴李爾王

看之前已經連續被三個人警告說非常悶、不好看，而且三個人都沒看完就逃掉了… 看完24H，只有45分鐘的時間從牯嶺街跑去城市舞台，午飯的時間都沒有，狂奔去捷運站再狂奔，八月的台北好熱哪！還要是坐三樓！跑到自己的位子的時候剛好開場。

形式化的進場，服裝刻意跳出某種時代，似乎想要脫離李爾王本來的時代，指向更為遼闊的面向。

演出特別之處是有聽障的演員，而演出裏是說話與手語並存。但說實話，看得很辛苦。一開場由一位手語演員做chorus，說了一大堆背景資料；我的頭忙碌地轉來轉去，又要看演員的表演，又要看字幕。一開始便投入不了，氣氛相當凝滯。而後手語與說話加上要看字幕真的讓人不勝其煩，把一半氣力都耗去了，完全無法投入看，一點情緒都沒有。導演處理上演員們的動作不多，肢體和台位很形式化，而且幾乎不動，很多時候就站著說一大段話。如此這般，我的確明白為何我那三位朋友都抵不到完場就跑掉。

有趣的是，跟24H的黑面琵鷺的腳踏車一樣，樂師是置於場中當眼位置，甚至比演員還要近觀眾。但這邊的樂師就真的僅是樂師而己。刻意採用了東方樂器，如揚琴等。可是看不出用心的原因(?!)

啊…真的蠻沉悶的一個演出…希望這週末的偷窺哈姆雷特之屋會比較好吧!

——————-

< 24H：到處存在的場所 到處不存在的我>　第四屆新潮實驗室

地點：牯嶺街小劇場

時間：2009年8月16日(日) 11:00

票價：600元

<低迴李爾王>　第屆台北藝術節

地點：城市舞台

時間：2009年8月16日(日) 14:30

票價：450元

——————–

台北散漫(一)–地下城

又到台灣來了。

前年跟Joyce soc’待過在高雄橋頭拍金甘蔗影片、順道遊了台北幾天，去年跟家人一大伙去過台中清境農場跟日月潭，這一次就先留在台北散漫一下。一直都沒想到自己會常跑台灣，可是就是緣份使然。本來打算環島或者去離島、農場等等玩一下，可是突如其來的風災，台灣東南部災情都很嚴重，不好意思也不可能去玩。作為一個旅客，大概最幫得上忙的事情就是留在台北別亂跑吧。

就閒閒的在台北四處逛逛，用本地人生活的步調。

＜地下城＞

在等他下班，可是夏天的台北天氣好熱，街上又滿是機車呼出來的廢氣，就溜到地下街裏去。才發現下面是另一個世界。在街上都在想，怎麼好像台北都沒甚麼人在街上走，店舖裏都沒人逛；原來啊，都躲到地下街裏去，避過烈陽和嗆人的黑煙。

中山地下街那邊有一個MOCA地下藝廊，就是台灣當代藝術館Museum of Contemporary Art的地下分部，開在地下街有一些小展覽，更加貼近民眾。有三個展品，佔了三個舖面的位置吧，叫「老，不休！(Old,yes)」，是與歷史跟記憶有關的題目。

不知道是MOCA的作風還是普遍台灣的藝術展覽都是這樣的，我一走過去，一位殷勤的導覽員就立刻過來跟我解說展品的觀賞方法、藝術家設計作品背後的概念和意義等等。這樣的安排也許是希望把藝術品普及化，讓一般不進藝術館的民眾都比較理解；可是同是卻在扼殺了觀眾自主閱讀藝術品的空間。而且這樣培養出來的觀眾也容易變得懶惰，習慣了得有人解說；作品也得依賴導覽員而存在，否則似乎不完整。上次在MOCA看作品也有同樣的問題－－作品沒辦法獨立跟觀眾溝通，如果沒有導覽員解說，就失去了溝通能力；但當導覽員解說之後，可能性就全給關掉，觀眾只剩下說「哦，原來是這樣子」的餘地。在導覽員熱切的眼光之下，我也似乎無法用自己的方法去閱讀、觸摸作品，只能依照被教導的操作方法去「使用」。

記得我們畢業展的時候，一大問題也是作品沒辦法跟觀眾建立好溝通的方法。當然我們的作品的問題是另一種，是比較學術理論化，然後很多東西沒有轉換到一個可供觀眾閱讀的形式上，就變成一本本厚厚的research資料，卻還沒成為作品。

在MOCA及MOCA地下藝廊看這幾個作品的感覺是，台灣的作品在形式上不太強，跟內容、概念沒有結合的很好，就變成玩的部分就真的只是玩，而且是在導覽員解說之後就沒有深入探掘玩味的空間，而想說的事情就完全是另一回事。在考慮觀眾閱讀的部分，大多只設計出一些看來好玩的點子，觀眾玩賞的時候卻沒辦法在閱讀模式或行為上對作品有更多層次的觸摸。

不過大多作品都比較大型，佔的空間比較多，也許跟台灣的空間比香港遼闊有關吧。香港的作品氣質上比較intellectual，形式很強；台灣的則比較著重背後的情感或要說的故事，形式上卻往有落差。這倒還蠻符合香港人跟台灣人思維氣質上的粗略差別－－香港人比較智性，很精明；台灣人鄉土感情比較重，個性比較直率，有話直說。

－－

然後信步走到中山地下書街，好長的一條地下街，兩邊都是書店，甚至中間還有擺賣特價書的攤子。店員不多又沒管理員，顧客都隨便翻書隨便看、隨便坐在一角就埋頭苦讀起來，都沒有人在干涉。不像香港過度神經緊張、有空間潔癖的管理方式。書非常便宜，常常有折，但印刷又不賴、翻譯效率又很高。怪不得台灣圖書館都一副破落沒生氣的樣子－－就根本用不著去圖書館嘛，直接去買或者去書店地板上看完就好啦。

再往前走，近雙連站的部分有一個區域，兩邊沒有商舖，牆壁上卻裝上了全身鏡。一團團的年輕人就聚集著，把校服換成休閒服，把自己帶來的節拍音樂接上喇叭調亮，對著鏡子練起街舞來。

香港就是很缺這樣的空間！只不過是把沒有的通道放給年輕人，甚至全身鏡都不需要(有當然是更感動啦～)，我們只不過欠一點不用給管理員趕走的空間！只要有一片這樣小小的室內空地就很好了。路人在通過地下街的時候，又可以看到年輕人努力的模樣，也可以隨便坐下來，看看他們排舞的情況。根本就不需要建那麼多好高鶩遠的大型主題公園，這樣日常的場景已經是最好玩、最看不膩的了。

Kiss

當兩天匯集成一天

困在房子裏

白天黑夜就不成為甚麼

空氣沒有流走過

時間留在指縫間

我一直以為舞是興之所致、是狂熱、是迷戀； 原來習舞者必須凝鍊、冷靜，在急疾、跳躍、旋轉的當兒， 每一個步都清晰簡明。 如何以澄明輕省來述說情感之深之重。 我常把呼與吸相逆、 前後與左右之方向矇混， 然在步與步之間， 喜愛那些滑移、扭轉、蹲， 裝作懂得， 一直動； 克服暈眩。 我只是想舞、想舞，因著一份深切的渴望，無法停止，想要舞。

讓親吻成就所有

別讓溫度逃脫

沙發上緊握我們的手

白色小獸就在角落閃現

熱在旋轉，捲落花朵的邊陲

在河流的底部滑過 遇上七彩斑爛的魚

然後輕輕的扭過身子 飄搖在空中

給你一個　永遠的

.

.

.

.

.

因為是那麼的充沛、結實豐盈，一如累累的果懸而未決， 要全心投入、不保留一點的，把一切都傾注、洶湧的， 是一種流動，全然的流動，在溫熱的河之中， 緊緊擁抱、拉著手、揚起、旋轉、踼踏、歌、高亢的哼、 所有一呼一吸在當中、沒被遺漏、全部全部都、 才能夠明白生命之美好，身體是盛宴，存在是慶典， 都細意愛撫過、親吻過，他日真要惜別，才懂得。 當我開始真正的旋轉，投入暈眩的不多不少之中， 讓自己空了，那麼便就飛舞，別拉著手， 而我們始終如一。

綁在頭上的法包問號

法包人的糊塗帳

文：陳冠而(http://chankwunfee.wordpress.com) / 載於香港獨立媒體

行為藝術總是以一種與日常生活存有某程度的戲劇化差異，而又刻意地迎頭撞擊日常生活的場景的姿態去引起「平凡人」的注意與及對所謂「日常」有所反思。近年，愈來愈多本土行為藝術家活躍於各大小公共空間，香港人從「做咩呀？」的反應，到現在已開始認識到這種藝術形態之於社會現場中的針對性──挑戰性、挑逗性和挑釁性。當頭上綑著一條條長法包的人在上環街頭漫遊時，連菜檔的大嬸都說一句：「啊，藝術下嘛？」

日本藝術家折元立身受Para-site之邀，在香港上演他自90年代開始、已巡迴過世界各國的著名行為藝術作品Breadman。是在一月十六日，某個尋常星期五的下午，從上環普仁街的Para-site出發，十個法包人隨著折元，往嘉咸街街市走去。

在被邀參與演出、準備、演出途中到演出完畢歸家路上我一直一頭霧水；攜帶著滿腦子問號，我努力嘗試從偉大的互聯網世界中尋找某些話語的憑藉，為這堆流離失所的問號下點註腳。Para-site的導覽文章是如此說的：「折元的表演與日常生活經驗息息相關的。透過法包人，他創造了第二人格，以表現出現代社會中個體之間的關係，其作品深切地表現著存在主義的理念…法包人則是一個時而親切、時而冷漠的角色。」折元給他的作品一個名稱，叫做Communication art(這能譯做溝通藝術嗎？)；法包人的重點不是為甚麼是法包，而是當表演者走在街上時，途人對這些把長法包綁在頭上的人的反應與思考。這是否意謂著，藝術家在抗拒符號的意涵詮釋，轉而把注意力集中在行為藝術於觀者與表演者之間所產生的行動性效應？這並非注視內容(content)，而是注視行動(action)與互動(interaction)本身，因此為之溝通藝術？

如果上述揣測成立的話，途人的反應與演者的感受理當是值得記錄及再被反思的。耳際聽到形形色色的問題，來自魚檔阿叔、菜檔大嬸、搬紙皮的阿婆：

「麵包舖新開張呀？」

「麵包加價呀？」

「你地係咪藝術學院架？」

「嘩…搞咩呀？」

「嘩綁晒啲麵包響個頭度咪好重囉？」

「好嘥麵包姐咁…」

「俾我食架？」

「多謝喎！」

「俾一忽？成條啦！」

異乎尋常的誇張造型惹來路人的圍觀和不同的反應；Breadman不是花車巡遊，並非熟悉的表演方式，因此引發很多好奇及不同意見；又不是小丑之類街頭表演，Breadman存在一種意向上的模糊性。我終究不是旁觀者，無法感知表演為他們的日常生活帶來何種程度的衝撞或者刺激。

茫然無主、漂浮著的法包人

我更想談的是身為Breadman的反思。

一眾準法包人直到表演前一刻都不知道除了「把麵包綁在頭上遊街」之外還要做些甚麼。只有在攝影師、記者朋友們齊集，攝錄機的拍攝指示燈亮著以後，我們才第一次聽折元說關於這個表演。我們聽到幾個keyowrds：Communication art、sharing、playful。知道靈感源於聖經裏取穌以麵餅象徵身體、紅酒為血分給門徒。然後我們就乖乖坐著讓折元和助手幫我們變身成法包人了。直到踏出門口那一刻我們才意識到自己是如何的茫然：我們該靜默抑或能說話？該跟在他身後列成隊還是如何？我們只是行走嗎可否與路人招呼？我們手上的法包如何處置？…我們到底在幹甚麼？

我們只有悻悻地努力地跟隨著折元的腳步，一如幼稚園裏乖巧學步的小孩。他搖鈴說坐便坐，他擺甫士我們便定格拍照。「We are breadman, not human-being!」我是否該不思不想地繼續走？

當折元站在荷里活道的石櫈上，一臉熱切地高呼「I Love Hong Kong City!」時，我不禁感到一陣惶惑、突兀：他這句口號那麼虛浮，如同印著I Love HK的廉價T裇，卻拌在一種高昂的語調之中。他到底知道香港嗎？躲在Para-site的玻璃畫廊之中接受外藉記者的訪問、一群準法包人只好在門外等、我們由始至終沒談過半句話；在表演途中一直問助手「Market?market?」、顯然連表演這一小段路都沒走過；他說I Love Hong Kong，那是一種怎樣的愛？抑或作為遊走國際的藝術家，他愛的是城市本身，是每一個都會，而非要深入認識她的底蘊？我只看到他困鎖在白色的畫廊空間中，在一個白色漂浮到另一個白色，不著地。

我一直走得很貼近折元，就在他背後。眼前常常看不見途上的路人，卻不是因為法包遮住眼睛，而是簇擁在折元前後的攝影師群。我們一行十人，綁著、提著法包慢慢前行；攝影師們扛著、搖著攝影機，慌張急疾地找尋有利位置，始終佔據著我們步幅前的一個大半圓。我們不時被指令、卻不是由折元、而是攝影師們：後面啲行上前！影唔到呀！係啦、係、痴埋啲！你知道嘉咸街的狹窄是容不下十個法包人平排走的，於是，我們不免被拍完後方角度的熱心攝影師推開、讓他好衝前拍一張合乎審美標準的正面照。這是一個staged for cameras的event，表演者不能專注表演、途人不能越過攝影陣，表演者茫然如失、躲在陣列當中進退失據、竊竊私語…如果他想說的是「媒體造成真實經驗在面對面溝通之間的隔閡」，我想大概還更合理。

是「藝術」啊！

不如我們就來試試胡亂地詮釋吧？(反正現今不都很多人，胡亂地做出一些眩目的東西，然後就讓大家努力的為他詮釋嗎？)可能可以得出許多煞有介事、饒富趣味的解讀。他對法包人義務表演者的指示之欠缺、解釋之不完全，都在說明語言溝通之徙勞、或當代藝術工作之蒙混性；他那虛浮的「I Love Hong Kong City」，尖銳地刺穿大都會的複製特質，因此他可以見一個愛一個…如果把某些藝術家當成神，他做的一切都是殿堂級作品，那麼，我們來努力吧！努力地詮釋吧！把所有錯漏、缺失、粗陋通通都用華麗的學術詞藻雕琢成一件堂皇竹旳藝術品吧！

嘉咸街街市自不是一般街市，因富社區特色又面對重建問題，早有文化藝術工作者介入；街坊街里不是第一次見到「搞藝術的人」。當有人問及「你地係咪藝術學院架？」，我和友伴還在躊躇如何解釋、或者作為Breadman應否解釋(折元並無指示，他也聽不懂廣東話)，已聽到一個聲音朗聲說：唔係呀，藝術空間呀！唔係藝術學院，藝術空間！Art space！隊伍腳步不稍頓，那位發問的大嬸已經在身後數丈了。大叔問「搞咩呀？」時幾個聲音又胸有成竹的答：藝術呀，呢啲藝術黎架。這樣的回答可真充滿詰問意味。

我們卻不是麵包超人

一位拉著小車的老婆婆跟了我們好一段時間。開始的時候，她問：「咩黎架？咩野意思呀咁樣？」沒有人回答。她一直跟著，漸漸變得不耐煩：「咁樣綁啲麵包響塊面度好嘥野！」一位法包人向她解釋：這個行為藝術表演想談的是溝通與分享。「點樣溝通點分享呀？痴塊麵包響塊面度！」法包人把麵包折下一小塊遞給婆婆。「我唔要呀！痴響塊面咁污糟！」法包人自己吃一口，再遞給婆婆。「唔要！邊個出錢架？整埋啲咁既野！」婆婆還跟了一會，最後獨自離去了。我在途上，和很多路人分享了我的三大條長法包，他們高興的接過，有些還即場吃了。那些時刻我心懷感激，覺得「分享」的感覺似乎美滿。走得很累，最後在街市一隅某法式餐廳的店前台階我們被吩咐坐下。折元買了十罐可樂和一罐啤酒，我們等齊了攝影師佈好陣勢，以舉杯cheers、派對式的歡愉來結束表演。法包綁得非常緊，我的頭痛與暈眩已持續了很久，終於可以坐下來補充血糖，人完全鬆懈。就在再呷一口可樂時，頭上的法包給人用力撞扯得快要散開，還以為有人走過、不小心扯到，卻見隔鄰法包人的法包頭一併散開了。這才看見折元的助手提著鋒利的美工刀，粗暴地把麻繩割斷，噼咧啪嘞的，法包掉到髒黑兮兮、沾滿陳蹟的街市地面上。我心一下子抽緊。

攝影機對酒醉腓紅的國際知名藝術家折元依然興致勃勃，只有我們被拆下法包光環以後遺留下一堆問號與一疊彷徨。年輕的記者趨前，在歸途上問我們過程中的趣味，失去了法包的法包人面面相覷，興味從缺，惶惑與失落滿腔，憤怒甚至有之。是為著整個過程中之不知個所以然、也為對攝影機而作的表演厭煩、更多的卻是為那些被遺棄的髒法包。近百個法包等待收養似的丟滿一地、蔚為奇觀。工作人員小姐應變神速，找來兩個濕漉漉的垃圾竹筐，七手八腳把不再光輝的剩餘物往筐裏丟，盛起兩座淒酸的小山。一個不再是法包人的男孩手護著法包山，把它們推到一旁，眼裏紅紅的，消失在攝影陣的後面。折元在這裏，拿著啤酒，攝影機在這裏。法包不綁在法包人的頭上，頓時失了魔法，無人問津。那位眼眶紅了的後法包人回來，近乎悲慟的只說了一句都丟掉了。街市裏的婆婆們發出罵聲，怎能如此暴殄天物？是誰出的好主意？我們也失了魔法，無能解答。

大堆頭式、eye-catching的形象，用作影像記錄總是好看的。折元在Para-site的展覽，就是海報形貌的行為/概念藝術記錄；的確悅目，乍看圖像還以為滿有感覺，走在行動裏面卻發現乏了民間的細緻、亦不見對社區的關愛…那位眼紅紅的男孩說，這個表演似是「施捨」多於「分享」。等待出發時一眾法包人在鬧在玩，開始在談不如改用菠蘿包、走到麵包舖中跟店員以法包換方包諸如似類，想來卻充滿在地性；折元帶著法包通行世界，到處移植，卻似乎在此無根也無果。

我們以為自己是麵包超人，不惜把自己的頭讓人吃了來得到溫飽，卻發現自己不是Anpanman只是Breadman，還把幾十條長法包毀棄於垃圾房。藝術的臉孔可以精緻，但背後是否就能穢亂萎靡？我不是想說藝術該關乎道德，只是些許覺得Breadman在談communication、sharing的同時，恰恰在反溝通、反分享。

旁落的行動

行為藝術表演需要被記錄、被反思。我並不是指以藝術家或主辦機構的documentation形式所作的宣傳或archive式記錄，而是由表演者、或途人，真正參與表演過程、表演實際的主體，在過程中之所思所感、所聞所見。如果只是在藝術雜誌的解構式分析評論或者藝術空間網上、宣傳單張上那些精雕細琢的文字玩弄才能詮釋作品而使之能被理解、行為藝術表演在地發生時的市井對話或表演者自身的複雜感受無法被珍而重之，那麼，它充其量只能成為小圈子中的一種喋喋不休，而失效於它所謂的「對社會現場中的針對性──挑戰性、挑逗性和挑釁性」。

延伸閱讀

1. http://www.para-site.org.hk/events/20090116TatsumiOrimoto2.html

Para-site網頁上關於是次演出的資料。

2. http://www.assemblylanguage.com/reviews/Orimoto.html

有點關於折元生平與藝術簡歷的。

3. http://blog.think-silly.com/thinksilly/?p=201

Blog-think-silly的短篇報導。

4. http://improveverywhere.com

另一個即興/行為藝術的組織網站，記錄了很多瘋狂行徑，大多無傷大雅，可是在城市中讓人突然像小孩般玩個不亦樂乎。可以對讀、比較一下。

Visual ethnography: The Queen(s) & the Star(s)

Interview about HK identites; clips of interview with Chimo

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Where is my sea?

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“當某些事情被反覆論述時, 這些事情其實和原來所指距離了多遠? 變成了甚麼? 擴展到甚麼? … 集體回憶中的集體是怎樣構成的? 我(地)有無份? 我(地)是個體, 還是集體中的個體, 還是…??”

:: Introduction to my project

My original plan was to collect allegories about Hong Kong and through collecting and analyzing, to investigate how Hong Kong stories are interpreted and represented, as well as what symbols are being used and concerning about what lied behind the constructions of such narratives. The initial idea is definitely promising, but as what I foresaw, the scale was too big and I had to slim it down.

I started with browsing videos in youTube which are search results of keyword “Hong Kong” or “香港”. Most of them are tourism promotion videos, history documentaries and advertisements. My observation is they are full of stereotypical Hong Kong “icons” or “images”, for instance, a sailing boat in the Victorian Harbor, or a middle-aged chubby Chinese guy showing the audience a langouste.

I focused on identifying stereotypical icons of representations of Hong Kong, and then discovered that there is always a way of speaking lying behind these grand narratives of Hong Kong stories. Hong Kong is portrayed in a particular way which we all Hong Kong citizens are familiar with, in and only in representations. The portrayed Hong Kong images are imaginary ones, somehow is not really the Hong Kong we are living in.

Several terms are being over-used without careful considerations. “Collective memories” and “Hong Kong local identities”, etc. “Memories of Hong Kong” become no more personal, but discourses. Some ways of speaking are suppressed, while some are being dominant.

I then decided to confine the scope to only two overt symbols, “the Queen” and “the Star”. Obviously, these two symbols would be connected to current hot cultural issues which are the fight about conserving the tower of Star Ferry (天星鐘樓) and the Queen Pier (皇后碼頭). Meanwhile, these two symbols are embedded with a strong impression of the colonial period.

I interviewed five Hong Kong local citizens, beginning by asking them whether they would identify themselves as a “Hong Kong-er” (香港人) or not, then gradually went into their personal memories of lives in Hong Kong, towards “the Queen’ and as well as their views upon “the Queen” ’s issue. A collection part is also included. I invited the interviewees to provide me something representing “the Queen” and select from a batch of pictures which are representations of “queen”. Then I asked them to recall if any more “queens” are still remain in Hong Kong. The last part of the interview, I gave the interviewees several passages I abstracted from the internet which people wrote about “the Queen” ’s issue, and asked them to select a short piece and read.

Based on the interviews, I then went to take photographs and collect videos of what the interviewees recalled as the remaining “queens”.

In the following part, I will discuss how the process is and what my discovery is of the research.

:: Research process and discoveries – interview part

I started the interviews with asking the interviewees that, if they would declare themselves as a “Hong Kong-er”. Following this very first question, I then asked them to recall significant issues or memories they would put as highlights to signify their teenage lives in Hong Kong. As the framework was set to discussions about Hong Kong identities and collective memories, in the following parts the interviewees automatically direct themselves to think of and respond to my questions within the field. I actually just used the term “queen” in stead of “the Queen Pier” until the interviewees used the term themselves, but all of them made connections themselves already. As the frame applied, we were speaking in common language which “queen” was signifying issues about “the Queen Pier” and moreover, topics about cultural conservations, collective memories and also space politics.

In the interviews, I actually played with “the Queen” in different levels, cultural and semiotic. One question was, “Where else can we still find ‘queens’ now in Hong Kong, as you could recall?” There were diverse responses.

Colonial histories

“The Queen” icon obviously represents the whole period of colonial history to Mrs. Kwok as she focused on mentioning places about the colonial period.

For Chimo, he mentioned some share places as Mrs. Kwok, but he focused more on the figure of queen. For example, he mentioned the sculpture in the Queen Square and Victoria Park.

Monica made associations based on colonial period’s memories and geographical relation, as she mentioned the journey on Star ferries crossing the harbour, while pointing that the pier she often used is near the Queen’s Pier.

Carol jumped from memories of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom. She described the ambiguous identity of Hong Kong-ers being in UK and the strange intimacy between the colonial empire and the citizens of the colony.

Big Jump

Maze, which is a very special one, associated varied examples as she took “queen” not only as representation or symbol of colonial history, but to more extents. For example, she mentioned the “queen” in Disney cartoons and the “Queen’s Cake Shop” in Festival Walk. Also, she mentioned “Queen’s Road Central” and “Queen’s Road East” because of linguistic connection, then she further associated to a song of Law Tai Yau, and more she linked to a film which the protagonist sang the song in. This is certainly a good demonstration of lateral-associative thinking and also a game of semiotics, which one signifier can actually signify diverse signified(s).

Maze’s association is also revealing how complex the symbol of “queen” is embedded in our cultural knowledge network.

Besides questions and discussions, I put some activities into the interviews, which is the second part of it. These activities have their own significance and stirred different kinds of discussions. They are also creative-collecting activities collaborated with the interviewees and I.

:::: Pictures of “Queen”

In the second part of the interview, I gave the interviewees a batch of printed images, which are search results of Google using keywords “皇后”, “女皇” or “queen”. Google’s search results are not only confined to those of Hong Kong, so “the queen” here is of more representations from all over the internet. Pictures tagged with “queen” differ a lot from “queen” in discourses of “queen” in Hong Kong, but here I bring these two aspects together by asking the interviewees to select picture(s) to represent their “queen” in such context.

::::: Collecting “Queen”s

I asked the interviewees to provide me some materials which could be collected by me as a representation of “queen”. I actually had a idea of collecting coins with icon of Queen Elizabeth bear in mind, but I did not suggest to the interviewees. However, all of them thought of the same idea with me. It is so strong to see that coin with “queen” is a shared deep memory of Hong Kong-ers from different ages and backgrounds.

The collecting activity stirred discussions from interviewees and rouse memories of everyday lives with coins. The coins are ordinary things we used almost every day but seldom pay attention to. Interestingly, Carol joined the interview with Monica after I interviewed her and they two discussed about the coins. Monica said she thought that coins were with “queens” as she had used for years and did not notice that now most of the coins have been changed into “flowers” [the Bauhinia]. She could not find even one coin with a “queen” in her purse. Then Carol made her contradicting comment, which she always thought that coins were with “flowers” in stead of “queens”. It is obvious to notice that Monica was born and grown up in colonial period while 1997, the year of handover, is just Carol’s.

::::: Reading about “Queen”

The passages I gave the interviewees were mostly abstracted from blogs where Hong Kong people wrote about the Queen Pier’s issue. All the interviewees said they did not read these passages so as the blogs before, and the main source to know about the issue is from TV news or online newspapers. I provided them an opportunity to read these passages but meanwhile the availability of articles is restricted by me. I then asked the interviewees to select one or more short paragraphs which they had strong feelings or they thought it is important to read. This is a multi-layered-selection and read-re-read process. The articles were selected by me and then by the interviewees, and then read by the interviewees, recorded and watched by audiences.

After reading-out, I asked them why they chose such paragraphs. Through the above activities, interviewees made dialogs to the writers. Reading-out others’ writings is like an echo. Audience will perceive the writings through the interviewees’ mouths, which consist of multi-layers of interpretations and performances.

::::::::: interviewing as an actively provoking activities (event level)

The interviews were not merely “collecting views”, they were events.

In the interviews, personal memories were raised upon the grand narratives of collective memories. Individual voices were preserved. The interviewees expressed their own interpretations on the same issue which were really diverse and surprising.

The interviewees got opportunities to articulate themselves. All of them reflected that they seldom talked about such issues, but they are actually full of opinions waited to be discovered. They did mention that they thought they were “powerless”(Monica) and “had no rooms”(Chimo) to speak up.

In front of the camera, the interviewees spoke more formally and really dug into the issue which I had not had such discussion with some of them before. So here the camera’s presence is significant, it provoked.

:: My interventionist game

Based on the interviews, I did some follow-up works. I took what the interviewees recalled as “Queen” and then went to sites they mentioned, to play a generative game.

Photo-taking adventure

I took pictures of what they mentioned and also during the walk, took pictures of things or scenes consist of symbols or printed words of “queen” or “star”.

I tried to locate the places where I might not pay attention to before and really went there to take a photo. Then I marked on the map where I took the pictures and the map will be shown in my installation to let the audience connect the taken photographs and the geographical positions.

Through such activity, I locate the “memories” mentioned by the interviewees into the living real places through my act. I really experience the places (or things) which previously were something heard from others, and turned into my own memories.

Also, the adventure was completed by me, so the photos taken were the  interpretations of their memories by me, the ethnographer. It is shared authorship. In the interview, I first decided questions and directions to work with, then the interviewees’ responses became my rules and drove me to somewhere totally unexpected.

I and the interviewees, we together constructed alternative interpretations of “the queen” and becoming subversion of the discourse of collective memories of the Queen Pier.

Video : “Where is my sea?”

Passing through the new Star Ferry pier, walking alongside the harbour, I saw blockades which prohibited me from seeing the Victorian Harbour. I then took my DV camera, started from the first blockade, walked along the coast until I could see the sea without blockade again. With the help of the apparatus, I recorded the whole journey and turned into a video called “Where is my sea?”. Audience can experience the whole walk with me which surprised me that it took so long to see the harbour again. Also, scenes of the sea coast road were preserved. And for me, I created my own memory of the Queen Pier and Victorian Harbour .

:: Final output and my creative decisions

The final output will be an installation, an assemblage of my collectibles and my responses, which consists of video of interviews and “Where is my sea?”, photos taken in the generative game, a map with marks, collection of coins with “queen” and a small booklet with my own reflections.

The installation comprises of different interpretations rooting from the symbol  “queen” and “star”. Dominant discourses are re-considered and challenged but there is not a given new answer. So the title of my work is called “The Queen(s) and the Star(s)”. The “(s)” is emphasizing open-ended answers and questions.

- video / interview ( in DVD + booklet) : archives + my reflections (reflexivity)

I put the interview footages into a DVD within very simple editing, aiming at preserve the entire interview and make it accessible to audiences. I added few texts as my highlights instead of full transcript. Those highlights were keywords or sentences caught me most when I second read the footages. I wrote my reflections and printed into a small booklet to be put beside the television for audiences to read. The writings of mine expressed what I thought as a researcher and emphasize the presence of the researcher. Instead of single-channel video broadcasting, I choose the DVD format as I would like to leave room for audiences to surf through the DVD on their own choices, sequences and skip or pause or fast forward if they want. Also, they could refer the DVD to the booklet, to surf through these two media and choose what to read.

- video / “Where is my sea?” + map : highlighting

The video “Where is my sea?” is also put into the DVD. The coast line I walked through to shoot the video was highlighted on the map shown in the installation. Such setting let the audience to refer my representation to the geographical position of the pier and the harbour.

- photos displaying : archives + performative

As the above video, the photos will be shown and also marked on the map where they were shot. Varied kinds of images suggest diverse ways to interpret what “queen” and “star” could mean.

- collections

Collections of coins were put in plastic conservation bags and will be shown in the installation. The collections are input of the interviewees, in which they become participants, a more active role. Also, the act of putting the coins into bags is an act of conservation. Meantime, coins in bags can be symbolizing the suppressed, buried or dust-laden memories of colonial period.

:: Conclusion and evaluation

Operations during research

Camera skills should be enhanced and recording style and framing should be considered more carefully for the sake of editing and creative treatment. Some backgrounds of interviewees were too noisy, which caused difficulties in adding texts and diminished the visual qualities.

Cultural level

Beginning with interviews I gathered lots of information about how my interviewees thought of Hong Kong identities and issues about the Queen Pier. I gained knowledge of what other aspects of Hong Kong is like which I do not know from their memories and share views with them.

The collecting activities led to surprising results as the interviewees actively recalled memories and expressed views which I do not expect from my decided questions.

Processing materials and documenting

The process of making documents is not done quite well. I was over-optimistic and overlooked the workload I was going to encounter, so I was running out of time after the first stage of the research. I actually have not yet tagged and coded all my documents, as well as analysing them. This led to the difficulties I faced in the creative intervention part. So the output can only be considered as an assemblage of my research process and creative activities I have gone through. But this would be an excellent lesson for my graduation thesis and other research-based projects.

Materials gathered are to be made into documents in more careful decisions afterwards, in order not to minimize the lost of details.

But yet I like the diversity of materials that I collected, and displaying such diverse materials is a worthy activity for audiences and I.

After the process of making documents, detailed analysis is to be done. Drawing graphs and creating hyper-text documents would be helpful.