Developed from broken parts of the Hong Kong map, this series of paintings recorded a first-person narrative about a prevailing myth of my hometown.  

In real life, maps are used to guide us to our desired destinations. Applying vigorous colours and spontaneous brushstrokes over fragments of the local street map, I, however, aimed at creating chaotic scenes with lost directions in order to depict the puzzling promises of the city’s future, which seems to continue to be a myth for many.

Reference: Street map of Central, the core financial and government area; and Shumshuipo, an old district with low income population.

The Map of A Myth I

This painting is a non-representational depiction of the view from my childhood balcony. From that opening to the outside world, I saw a hillside highway which was named “Lung Cheung Road”, meaning a long road flying like a dragon. Watching the road has always been fantasy-provoking, wondering what would be there at the other end of the road.
 Creating flow and dynamic is the purpose of this work. I took reference to a set of aerial photos of the Kowloon Peninsula in 1963. With contrasting colors, painting materials, applying tools and brushstrokes, I intended to portray the motion and oscillation of anticipation.  

The Map of A Myth VIII

A topographical map by the War Office of the British government in 1949 was used as reference. As one of the rare examples showing the ‘border area’ in Colonial Hong Kong, this strategic map included both the territories and southern China. A 2022 satellite map of the same area was employed as reference too. 

The Map of A Myth VI

Map is a record of history. The three treaties signed in 1842, 1869 and 1898 marked the colonial period of Hong Kong, a time when a fishing village developed into a world class cargo port. In 1898, there were two main villages adjacent to the ‘Boundary Line’ of the colony, namely Shamshuipo village and Kowloon City village. I employed a topographical map of Hong Kong in 1904, and transformed the map symbols of the two settlements into abstract patterns. Another reference is the map of the Kwai Tsing area in 2021, the district where the main port facilities are located at. I collaged the maps of the three areas in a non-representational approach, so as to build up an evocative imagery of reexamination of the local history. 

The Map of A Myth V

I employ the aerial photos of the Kowloon Peninsula taken in 1947 as the reference in composing this painting.

The Map of A Myth IV

The Map of A Myth III

This is a sequel to my representation of the continuous protests starting in mid-2019.  I first painted “Whirling Mass I” in August 2019 as protests escalated. "Whirling Mass II" was completed a year later when the social movement reached a deadlock. The painting reflects my introspection and self-questioning.
In this work, I painted some vines of varied obscurity, thicker or thinner, resonating with perpetual and undulating motion in the city. Vortexes all over the canvas, large and small, apparent or subtle, permit no escape from the all-engulfing situation.

Whirling Mass II

In my series entitled, “Hopscotching through Time,” each color block represents a numbered block in this children’s game. I’ve replaced numbers 1 through 10 with 1, 9, 6 and 5, the year in which I was born. If studied closely one can see in each painting smaller four-number sets, all more recent than 1965. These were personal benchmarks.
 
Time is often represented by numbers, daily, monthly and annually, for instance. A year could be perceived as simply a marker, with no significance, or it might represent the most important events a person experiences, something defining. Seeing a four-digit year, then, can prove a stimulating trigger or be devoid of meaning. 

The four pieces are to display my birth year left to right: 1, 9, 6 and 5. Though this is viewed as hopscotching across four blocks, it is not intended to be viewed as ‘in one piece’. Rather, each block in this sequence has its own character.
 
“Hopscotch #1,” the first painting, is a depiction of some far distant moment in life.
 
For “Hopscotch #9, my second square, I asked myself: how significant are major historical events to an individual? What about  from 1842 to 2046? A number of events depicted here may be tangential to some while others may feel hopeless or helpless. 
 
In the third square, I represent the status of an inescapable course of events with a big loop that depicts the number 6.
 
In Hopscotch #5,” my last square, I depicted the struggle between two forces: the constraint of history unfolding against the will of individuals to reject predetermination. These color blocks exhibit rock-like texture to represent a shaping force. Cloud-like strokes break solid color blocks into fragments, a symbol of individuals’ spontaneity and awareness.

Hopscotching Through Time 

Developed from broken parts of the Hong Kong map, this series of paintings recorded a first-person narrative about a prevailing myth of my hometown. 

In real life, maps are used to guide us to our desired destinations. Applying vigorous colours and spontaneous brushstrokes over fragments of the local street map, I, however, aimed at creating chaotic scenes with lost directions in order to depict the puzzling promises of the city’s future, which seems to continue to be a myth for many. 

Reference: Satellite map of Kowloon, in where 40% of Hong Kong population reside.


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KWONG Kwok Wai, Walter