Hong Kong Stories

In the old days many people would save their cinema tickets after seeing a film. Today’s tickets have no collectible value as the information on them disappears with time just like old cinemas in Hong Kong. Looking at Ricky Lau and Wong Ha Pak’s ticket collections is like a nostalgic walk down memory lane to visit old cinemas and their paraphernalia, including hand-painted billboards outside cinemas and joint cinema advertisement in newspapers.

During WWII, the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong for 3 years and 8 months. Ko Tim Keung’s collection of Japanese magazines published during WWII provides a glimpse into the propaganda generated by the Japanese military machine to justify its aggression. Police memorabilia of the period collected by Lam Kin Keung shows how Japanese used the police force, the secondary military power, to infiltrate every corner of the occupied areas to control people’s life. Collector Cheng Po Hung explains how the Japanese took over the territory’s finance and economy by issuing military yens. The stories told through the objects gathered by these collectors help to piece together a picture of the life in Hong Kong under the Japanese occupation.

A black and white picture he picked up fortuitously among discarded furniture sparked Adrian’s interest in old photographs. His fondness for them goes beyond these faded prints. Negatives, old photo holders and albums are things he also collects. He is especially intrigued by old-style photographic studios and their vintage wooden cameras. A common interest has brought Ricky, a collector of old historical photographs of Hong Kong, and Adrian together to share photographs of old Hong Kong beyond the photographic studios.

Tam Kwong Lim is one of the few ancient maps collectors in Hong Kong. His interest is macroscopic and his maps show Hong Kong in relation to the rest of China or Asia. One of his rare maps shows evidence that Hong Kong was originally known as the Red Incense Burner. Ricky Yam’s interest, on the other hand, is more microscopic. He collects local maps for everyday use. By comparing maps printed at different periods, he is able to observe the changes that have taken place in Hong Kong through the years.

Different things are given out at protest marches and social movements. To some they are more than just collectibles. Chong Yiu Kwong has been collecting June 4th Pro-democracy Movement T-shirts since 1989. They act as reminders to him not to let time and life dilute his conviction. His greatest hope is to exhibit them and to let visitors know the concepts behind their designs and their history.

Nothing in our everyday life best epitomises the progress of science and design than the telephone. Uncle Sam’s lifelong love affair with the telephone began with the visit of a repairman when he was a child. He became one himself when he grew up because he was so intrigued by this amazing machine. After his retirement, he began collecting and repairing vintage telephones. To him, the development of the telephone service in Hong Kong is just as fascinating as the device itself. Cheng Po Hung is a telephone memorabilia collector. His collection provides him with a lot of fun facts about the history of telephone service in Hong Kong.

Paper is not only a vehicle to spread knowledge as pages in a book; it can also document social changes. Local ceramist, Li Wei Han, first collected paper shoes – effigies to be burnt as offerings – for an exhibition. It was meant to be a comment on consumerism. Ironically, she has since become an avid buyer of these paper shoes. As a designer, she recognizes paper effigies as a traditional folk craft. But as they are replicas of everyday objects, she also appreciates their value as historical records of fashion and culture in Hong Kong. Simon Go collects pre-war paper packaging, especially that of Chinese medicine. He finds the accompanying information leaflets particularly interesting. For Lee Shau Ching, paper games and toys such as character cards and dress-up paper dolls bring back fond childhood memories and reflect the popular culture of the time.

There are many ways to preserve memories. Some collect memorabilia, some take pictures, some write them down on paper, and some turn them into miniature models. Tony Lai is an architectural model maker by trade. In his spare time he makes miniature models to preserve the memories of disappearing buildings and places such as the pawnshop in Wanchai, Western tenement buildings, rooftop shacks and even the squatters area in Mount Davis. His models are filled with carefully observed details such as a cat sunning itself on the corrugated iron roof or an old tram with a trailer. Maggie Chan also makes miniature models. Since she is a food lover, many of her models are food she ate in restaurants as a child with her father.

Hong Kong’s plastic toys were once known worldwide. To preserve that glorious past, KK has been collecting plastic toys made between the 60s and 80s. By displaying them at home, he has made them part of his life. Joel, on the other hand, has been exhibiting his toy collection since 1986. He has also been doing historical research on childhood and studying the progress made in culture, design and science through toys. He hopes to inspire creativity by using toys as three-dimensional textbooks.