Wish You Well
2020—
polaroids, site-specific bronze text
size variable
location: Fountain, Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
Hi! Flora, Fauna, 2021, Art Promotion Office, Lumenvisum, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble
In 1864, a fountain was built in the Public Garden. Here, it continues to stand after three major reconstructions.
“Public Garden” was the name used on old postcards to refer to what is now the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Among the locals, however, it was more commonly known as “Bing Tau Fa Yuen”—literally the garden for the Commander-in-Chief—which alluded to its role at the time as the private garden for the British Governors of Hong Kong. The site’s dual role persists through time to this day as it doubles as the back garden for those in power and a communal park for the people.
The genesis of the art project, Wish You Well, was a chance encounter in the beginning of 2020 with a rainbow in the fountain, beyond which lies Hong Kong’s skyline. When the rainbow emerges, I invite people to make a wish in front of this water feature, thereby turning it into a collective wishing fountain. I use a Polaroid camera to record from behind every singular instant of such wish making. Here, I rethink not only the relational dynamic between the individual and the collective self, but also the spatial history and future of our city.
Here lies the rainbow for wishful thinkers.
祝君好
2020—
寶麗萊,場域特定銅字
尺寸可變
由1864年至今,這公家花園有一噴水池;縱三次原址改建,水景依舊。
「公家花園」為香港動植物公園於舊明信片中的通稱。英殖時期,它開初為港督的私⼈花園,因此一直被慣稱為「兵頭花園」。終歸它是權力的後花園,還是眾人的公園?
2020年初,於晴朗的下午,我偶遇噴水池中的彩虹。彩虹劃過香港的天際線──畫面啟發我於此地景開展這藝術計劃。每當彩虹冒起之時,我邀請各人投進願望,以集體的意志構築一許願池。我以保麗萊記錄許願者的背影。計劃以個人與群體的共同想像作為對城市空間的介入與移置,再思其歷史與未來。
這裡為許願者埋下彩虹。