Space

Siu Kai Fong for Via North Point -

Open call for Creative Community Space Proposals

Public space design  I  2021

A joint project by O&O studio x REhyphenation

In response to Hong Kong Arts Centre’s open invitation for community-driven public art installation, Siu Kai Fong was commissioned with support from the Urban Renewal Fund. It acts as a reflection of the neighbourhood’s daily usage of the causeway. Further, it captures the historic district’s personal narratives through repurposed furnishings gathered from the North Point community including households, schools and businesses for visitors to experience a piece of the past. Upon repeated visits, we observed that the public pier was frequented by people participating in different activities at every hour of the day. Particularly in the case of the area’s elderly, they used the causeway for rest and relaxation. Users of the causeway even bring their own household furniture to use and readily share them with others. It reflects the problem of lacking chairs for people to carry out different activities in this area. Thus the practice of North Point local residents bringing their own used furniture to the site for use and this act of sharing became the basis for Siu Kai Fong.

We wanted Siu Kai Fong to reflect the neighbourhood practise of re-using old furnishings and on top of that include pieces that have stories to tell. To that end, the team reached out to the North Point community for donations and received 47 chairs and 3 tables. For the ones with compelling histories, narratives by voice actors provided lively recordings of seven chairs accessible via scanning QR codes embedded on each piece. The final installation is an urban living room compilation of upcycled furniture and installations complemented by painted floor graphics inspired by colourful heritage patterns commonly found in tenement buildings. Siu Kai Fong made the public realise the closeness of Hong Kong’s communities and the bonding between people. It acts as a record of a time and place in North Point. Since its unveiling, the team has been pleasantly surprised how people have used the chairs in unexpected ways. It is not a finite installation. Siu Kai Fong has taken on a life of its own.

​

Awards - see Bio & Awards

Media - see Media

​

​