(2015 April) In densely populated Hong Kong, we are used to living like tinned sardines. People work their tails off to pay their mortgage or rent just to keep a stamp size space they call home. It is almost like we are in a constant battle against landlords and property developers. “Space” is no longer about meeting a basic human need but has become a luxury.
In our modern, materialistic, capitalist society, the sad reality is that the right of "space" (whether its ownership or use) is a business transaction and comes at a price. But harsh reality has never stopped the human imagination, and how best to interpret utopian dreams than through art and culture. The "Hong Kong Really Really Free Market" (HKRRFM) is an art project which realises the utopian dream of creating a space where the economy is driven purely by people’s desire to voluntary give and share things, where no money or transaction is required or involved.
That utopian dream echoes some of the ideas behind the “JCCAC Handicraft Fair”, which is a platform created for people to connect, communicate and share ideas, encouraging their creativity and allowing them to experience an alternative mode of consumerism, hoping that it will help sow the seeds for the organic growth of a civilised society with unique spirit and local identity. Chan Ka Hing, a JCCAC resident artist who knew about the works of HKRRFM, saw the common tread between the two fairs and made the introduction. Hence, since 2012, HKRRFM has been running an alternative market event on the roof terrace of JCCAC in parallel with the “JCCAC Handicraft Fair” downstairs, offering a “really free” free market and free performance stage for voluntary sharing and giving. Absolutely no need to bring your wallet along.
Ka Hing is one of the founding members of the Hong Kong Art & Design Community. The group contemplates socio-cultural issues, including space utilisation. He believes that the people of Hong Kong are instinctively creative problem solvers, as illustrated in the past of their ability to make space through embracing the potential of mobility. “In the old days, people just created space for themselves where there was none. The Tanka people (a community of local fishermen) lived and worked entirely on their boats, illegal immigrants from Mainland China under the Touch Base Policy built squatter settlements for themselves on the hillsides, and hawking was a common way of making a living for the grassroots.” Through the implementation of stricter policies, society has allowed people in a growing population to co-exist in a tidier, more orderly manner. But somewhere along the way, have we been robbed of our freedom and creativity as individuals to provide alternative solutions to try address our own problems - like the lack of space?
Presented by Hong Kong Art & Design Community, the exhibition “Flowing．Game of Space” will take place in mid-April at L1 Central Courtyard. It explores the possibilities of creating mobile space in Hong Kong, inspired by ideas like hawking, cargo bikes and the Occupy Central movement.
Be prepared to worship at the altar of the hermit crab.
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