There are too many people and cars on the street, as well as many different languages. From the street to the corner, words carry different people, stories, and emotions, and are also an important part of connecting the life and culture of the community. If you want to get to know a street or a neighborhood, you can start with the “words”!
To welcome the art in March, the GATE33 art gallery at the flagship landmark AIRSIDE in Kai Tak has planned the contemporary art exhibition “Love You Ten Thousand Words”, inviting 10 contemporary art units, including: renowned hand-drawn calligraphy artist Katol Lo, emerging graphic designer Jonathan Mak, founder of the well-known design studio Milk Design, Lee Chi Wing, and font designer Adonian Chan, to use “words” as the concept, showcasing the history and stories collected from the community context, allowing everyone to deeply understand the unique cultural heritage and Hong Kong-style human touch between the four areas of Kowloon City, San Po Kong, To Kwa Wan, and Wong Tai Sin connected to Kai Tak!
一、土瓜灣
街坊贈字匯成 香港首個《贈字無限鏡房》折射無限祝福
To Kwa Wan, full of old Hong Kong nostalgia, is a real grassroots community. Many fellow associations, martial arts schools, clinics, and bone-setting centers settled here in the early years, establishing a deep relationship with the local working class. The shop signs “Orthopedic Saint” and “Compassionate Art” reflect the harmonious neighborhood relationships and the gifting culture unique to To Kwa Wan.
Local renowned hand-lettering artist Katol Lo delves into the To Kwa Wan community, hosting street calligraphy workshops at various local stores including Lai Tai Lane, Sparrow Guesthouse, and Sang Cheong Roastery. He gathers daily connections between neighbors and local stores, inviting them to write blessings and gratitude for the shops. Using the words written by the neighbors as a foundation, he draws inspiration from the old To Kwa Wan bone-setting and medical halls’ “mirror plaques” to create a new generation of calligraphic signs. These signs are presented in the “Infinite Mirror Room of Calligraphy,” reflecting the deep emotions and connections between neighbors and stores.
Traditional calligraphy emphasizes writing style and format. In the four workshops, neighbors brainstormed various new and old styles of phrases, with sincere and positive content, humorously down-to-earth, including “Siu Mai Brings Luck,” “Forever in My Heart,” “Blessed with Coriander Hands,” and more! Katol also upholds the spirit of giving words, creating a set of art mirrors with a playful style after listening to the shop owner’s stories, gifting them to the local shops and units in To Kwa Wan, hoping to pass on this grassroots community spirit and heartfelt intentions.
Further Reading:
- Feel the magic of Tadao Ando’s church architecture with wind, light, and water!
- Behind the Actress, Stories About Emma Stone!
- Hong Kong illustrator Pen So uses a pen and ink to transform the power of music into captivating visuals
二、九龍城
重塑社區元素與聲音 造出沉浸式影像體驗
People’s impressions of Kowloon City are inseparable from “old airport”, “Little Thailand”, “Little Chaozhou”, etc.
Graphic designer Jonathan Mak, a new generation, interacted with Thai children and neighbors in the Kowloon City area, encouraging them to express their thoughts on the community through words and sound; Jonathan also collected elements such as signs and street signs that appeared in Kowloon City, combined them, and used “Sound Type” as a creative medium to create flowing light and shadow works, which were then displayed on a large screen, allowing the audience to experience the community portrait of Kowloon City through immersive imagery. In addition, a new “Sound Type Radio” interactive device will be released at the same event, allowing everyone to try it out and share how creators adjust the sound frequency to create unique and lively text forms.
三、新蒲崗
象形文字家具 重溫「香港製造」的崢嶸歲月
The development of light industry in Hong Kong in the 1960s to 1980s was thriving, and San Po Kong was once a major hub for light industry in Hong Kong. As the “Made in Hong Kong” industry gradually declined, the labor force, as the backbone of the local light industry, was rarely mentioned. Hong Kong industrial designer Lee Chi-wing collaborated with young designer Lee Hung-kin to make detailed observations of San Po Kong, creating pictograms specific to the area based on its culture and industrial activities; at the same time, paying tribute to the manufacturing industry of old San Po Kong in the form of three-dimensional symbols.
They use furniture as a medium to turn Chinese characters into a three-dimensional “visual expression” – furniture created with the characters “生” (production), 力 (effort), 手 (handcraft), and 辶 (transportation), together evoke memories of the indomitable spirit of hardworking individuals, as well as the glorious era when “Made in Hong Kong” topped the world rankings.
四、黃大仙
天人連結 創作「文字空間」傳遞祝願
Wong Tai Sin is one of the birthplaces of local beliefs in Hong Kong, and spiritual beliefs are an important element of the community’s daily life. Adonian Chan, the creator of the Northern Wei true book style and font designer, started his creation from the Wong Tai Sin Temple. Based on the character creation of traditional Taoist gods, he used design techniques to break down, reorganize, and regenerate a completely new version. Collaborating with the local toy design unit LeeeeeeToy, they created a new three-dimensional text toy sculpture that combines the characters and meanings of “light, Tao, and heart,” expressing human expectations for the natural world, as well as extending to people’s pursuit of physical and mental satisfaction today. LeeeeeeToy also produced 100 plastic “figures,” depicting the sentient beings who worship in the temple; there are Northern Wei true book self-created character three-dimensional works, transforming into “important figures” to meet everyone and make good wishes. The Northern Wei true book also teamed up with the design studio HATO to create a lively digital interactive device that allows everyone to follow the Northern Wei true book’s words and dance steps to escape the human world, creating an interesting “text space” in the GATE33 art gallery.
Also present at the event are three creative units, including the vintage shop “Sunset” rooted in To Kwa Wan, showcasing the beauty of words on Hong Kong vintage items; Dave Choi, the founder of “Citywording,” who collects urban fonts observed on the streets and creates the “Word Guide” based on insect specimens; and Jason Chan, the founder and graphic designer of the design studio COMING-SOON, who has created different text component templates (Stencil) for us with contemporary design elements, allowing everyone, regardless of their understanding of design and typography, to unleash their imagination and create your own “illustrated text.”
The exhibition is a collaboration between the curatorial team and artists, exploring interesting and closely related elements of life in the vibrant Kai Tak neighborhood. It is divided into four main themed exhibition areas, large-scale artist installations, and interactive works, showcasing the close relationship between people, events, shops, culture, history, and words in the community. It serves as both a starting point for cultural and artistic creation projects and an imaginative extension. The exhibition also intentionally invited the local renowned printing unit Ink’ChaCha to produce 4 artist paper badges, combining playful community elements with artistic miniature forms for collection at home!
AIRSIDE “Love You Ten Thousand Words” Contemporary Art Exhibition
Exhibition Dates: March 21, 2024 to June 12, 2024
Exhibition Hours: 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Exhibition Venue: AIRSIDE 3rd Floor GATE33 Art Center
(Free Admission)
