Map, re-worked.

I felt it necessary to redo my map so that it was more representational of the city I have researched. I wanted to portray how crowded, exciting, alive and busy the city streets are. I also wanted to show the battle between old & new and rich & poor.
   I still kept the idea of a noodle tying elements of the city together, however, I used the noodle string to tightly bind some buildings to give a sense of overcrowding. I thought the noodle led the eye through the city from the rich, towering high above the poor- represented by cages.

   I feel that this map gives a stronger sense of Hong Kong: the intensity and hazy quality of the city, a mix between fresh ideas and tradition.

Mmm..

I found some rather tasty looking deep fried pig intestine, street food in MongKok.

Cages

Hong Kong is a vibrant city full of people - so much so that the quality of life for those at the most poor is atrocious. Up to 18 strangers live together in tiny 625 square foot cages with just one toilet to share. Each cubicle then becomes home to one resident.

The cages contain all their possessions, from clothes to cooking supplies and even family heirlooms. Realistically speaking, the cage is smaller than a jail cell; yet, these cages house thousands of poverty-stricken men and women who have nowhere else to live.

A cage-dweller from Hong Kong explained, “It’s dirty and hot. There are cockroaches and bedbugs, and the air-conditioning doesn’t work.”

A map of the city.

First, I decided to find a definition for the word: 'MAP - a visual representation of an area- a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes.'

I wanted to combine the aspects of my research which I had found most interesting, so my initial idea was to produce a map which was a string of lanterns, (the string a long noodle), within the lanterns would be images relating to the city. I then decided to replace some of the lanterns with other objects I felt represented my research of Hong Kong better.

This is my map, however I am not happy with it- I don't feel that it represents Hong Kong well enough as a map.

Looking at colour led me to research into festivals. No festival is complete without many lanterns strung up overhead. The lanterns are always made brightly coloured, mainly in 'lucky' red.

New Year lanterns.



Explosion of colour..

DEATH AND MISFORTUNE

(black and grey)

-A black ribbon is hung over deceased's picture.

-Sometimes black is linked with water and is neutral.

-In modern day HK black can be worn as daily clothing, but also used for mouning.



HAPPINESS & CELEBRATION!!
 (red & orange)

-weddings and holidays.

-lucky, 'lucky money' is given in red envelopes.

-healthy, prosperious and joyful.

-red walls, red brides dresses, red lanterns.

HEAVEN & THE EMPEROR

(yellow)

-Freedom.
-Corresponds with Earth= most beautiful colour.
-'Yellow generates Yin & Yang', implies that yellow is the center of everything.
-Often decorates royal palaces, altars and temples.








                      PURITY, DEATH & MOURING
                      (white)

                     -funerals.
                     -white and silver= metal, symbolises purity.
                     -Brightness and fulfillment.

HARMONY

(green)

-Health and harmony.

-Cuckoldry, men wear green hats if their wives have cheated. 

BLUE-GREEN =EARTH =corresponding with wood, represents naure and renewal. Spring and vitality.

BLUE/DARK BLUE =IMMORTALITY =dark blue is for sober occasions.

Living in HK..

I decided to email a friend who lived  and worked in Hong Kong so I could gain a deeper insight into the city and what it would be like to live there.

I asked him to explain his experiences and what he thought of the city. If he found anything particularly suprising or unusual when he was there and to explain any interesting stories. I also asked him to describe HK in a few words, if he thought there were any dominant colours or great differences between daytime and night. Basically, I told him that I would be grateful of anything he could tell me to help me understand HK more. Here was his reply:

Patrick Otley January 19 at 4:01pm

Hello Alice…

Feel free to look at my Hong Kong Albums for inspiration…let me know if you want to use any of them for illustration purposes or whatever!

So…to answer your questions…

So Hong Kong is an amazing city. Vast, vibrant…constantly in a state of flux. Each street has it’s own personality. I used to live on a street called Kweillin Street. In the mornings you’d see people dragging huge piles of polystyrene boxes around. I’m not sure why. I once saw a man dragging a pig carcass across the road. Weird. At lunchtimes there would be a market on the road, selling anything you can think of. Lots of sticky shoes. And then at night huge groups of men would stand around swapping things…I was never sure exactly what. Watches and things. Also, there’d be people playing Go and Mahjong in rooms that opened onto the street. And people collecting tvs, and breaking them up in a recycling centre next to where I lived. It was a good street. There was an old woman who would sell sandals, I called her Old Lady Kweillin. She was ancient, and very poor. She had a hunchback too.

I worked in a building called Langham place. It’s right in the heart of Mongkok, which is the busiest and in my opinion best part of HK. It’s all on the mainland part. HK island is very upmarket, big skyscrapers and expensive shops. If it wasn’t for the intense heat and humidity you could be anywhere in the world.

But Langham Place is this really modern skyscraper. It’s a shopping mall, with a cinema, loads of shops and restaurants. Above the shopping mall is a 60 odd storey office block. I think I was on the 49th floor. There’d be a man in the morning who’d recognize me and call me a lift that would take me directly to my office.

When you stepped out of work into the street it was a different world. The throng of people was like nothing else, amazing. The city really doesn’t sleep, sorry for the cliché. But it doesn’t. Tiny shops would be open up to midnight. The streets would be crowded all night long.I loved the shops, they aren’t like how our shops work. You have to do a lot of looking up in HK…at the base of a buildinh it might be a small shopping mall, the next floor might be a retaurant, the next floor a 1 Hour Hotel, then maybe another shopping mall… Because ground space is so limited everything goes up. There’s a goldfish market where they sell any kind of aquatic being you can think of, in little plastic bags in huge racks just on the street. That’d be a cool thing to draw. Once I went up some suspicious stairs and found a shop selling stag beetles. There were loads of little kids in there holding them. Really weird!

People in HK are super friendly…always happy to show you where to go or to say hello. I tried to stay away form westerners as much as possible, but there is an area on HK island called….something…can’t remember..Lan Kwai Fong I thing…full of expat bars. Not fun!
I’d spend a lot of my free time looking for cool toys in the weird toy shops, I had my favourites. There was one that was like a huge warehouse full of old toys…robots, monsters, anything really. I’d spend hours in there looking for cool stuff. I am a bit weird though.

Hmm…I haven’t answered your questions have I…
Words to describe Hong Kong: Unusual, Robots, Alive, Heat, Labyrinth, Electric Pandas…etc…

Colours: The heat and the dust make everything kinda hazy. There’s quite a lot more greenery in HK than you’d expect; before it was a city it was a jungle. SO there’s a lot of cicadas and strange jungle plants. Especially up the Peak in the island..that pretty much is a jungle still. I saw a giant centipede eating another giant centipede up there once. I don’t think there really is any particular colour I’d suggest.
Day/Night: Well there are a lot night markets that are open all night, they’re cool. And lots of neon sign and things, but not in the smart way that Japan does it, everything in HK is crooked and a bit scruffy. It’s a huge battle of old and new in HK.

Hm…well, that’s enough for now. Look forward to seeing what you do.. If you want to know anything else feel free to ask….

Paddy

"Gourmet Paradise"??

China is world famous for its eclectic cuisine so I decided a trip to a chinese restaurant was a good way of trying to get closer to the culture in Hong Kong, plus it would be a tasty bit of research! So, on the weekend I visited Dragon-i restaurant in Newcastle.

Dragon-i boasts dishes from mainland China which are very close to authentic recipes. So, I felt very willing to experiment with more exotic dishes like sliced eels with black bean sauce, duck tongue dim sum and chickens feet!  I can’t say any of these dishes have made it into my regular diet, but it was a good experience tasting some of the food which would be eaten in Hong Kong.

Learning more...

   I have compiled a list of a few Hong Kong facts which I have found during my research and placed them into three categories.

Important facts to help understand the city:

·         The city’s name, Hong Kong means Fragrant Harbour, this is thought to derive from incense transported to the area, giving it a pleasant smell.

·         Hong Kong is located in south-eastern China, at the base of the Pearl River.

·         Hong Kong, spread over 1,092 sq km, comprises of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and numerous small islands.

·         The official languages of Hong Kong are Cantonese (a dialect of Chinese) and English.

·         Hong Kong is counted amongst the most densely populated areas of the world.

·         The Bauhina white orchid on a red background is the symbol on the Hong Kong flag.

Hong Kong is the world’s most vertical city.

Interesting things to see or visit:

·         Hong Kong is home to a 34m hight bronze sitting Buddha statue, weighing over 250 tonnes.

·         Every winter the Bauhnia flower brings an explosion of colour to parks and gardens throughout the city.

·         Every evening Victoria Harbour comes alive with the world’s largest permanent light and sound show –laser beams and searchlights are shone from 44 skyscapers either side of the harbour.

·         Much of the land is mountainous, in an attempt to control erosion and rock slides the hillsides are coated in concrete. This is combined with an elaborate drainage system that helps keep roads from flooding.

Fun and interesting facts about Hong Kong culture:

·         In Hong King, people eat long noodles on their birthday, so they might be blessed with a long life.

·         4 and 7 are unlucky numbers as they sound similar to the word for death.

·         Spitting in the street, shops, bars or public transport is a finable offence since the SARS outbreak, to stop the spread of disease.

·         Each of the city’s 7million inhabitants consumes a yearly average of 1.4 kilos of tea.

·         Scaffolders working on the bamboo scaffolding are often called ‘spiders’.

·         On Sundays maids have the day off, literally tens of thousands of maids meet in groups on the streets, beaches and parks to gossip, sing and picnic with friends.

·         The word for fish, Yu, means prosperity and good fortune.

Initial Research

 I made a start in my sketchbook by thinking about possible things I could research about the city.

After a little internet research I decided to sketch from some of the images I found. I was looking at the streets and markets to begin with.

First steps.

Last summer I flew to Australia, stopping of at Hong Kong International Airport. Unfortunately this is the only part of Hong Kong I have actually seen.  From this limited experience, I found there to be an extremely calming atmosphere.  I remember my friends and I discussing how serene we felt even though we were under tight time constraints to find our gate. There was a strange music which seemed to calm us. It was very clean and orderly. I have a feeling that as I delve deeper into my research of Hong Kong I will find this to be a very misleading first impression.

Out of the warren...

I must admit, starting up this blog makes me very nervous!
The idea of documenting all my research, thoughts and sketches electronically just doesn't feel natural to me. However, I know I must focus this nervous energy so that I become excited about the possibilities of blogging. So, here goes..