Introduction
The story of Hong Kong’s Wah Fu community shrine began over 50 years ago. It was as a destination for residents living in the nearby housing estate to leave their porcelain deities when they moved or when the religion was no longer practiced by the younger generation. Over time, the community shrine became an important social space for residents of all ages and served as an informal archive of the community’s growth and transformation. Elders and retirees volunteered their time to keep the place clean and to care for the deities. Using their own resources, they also added new facilities such as a clubhouse and changing rooms for the swimmers. It is a remarkable example of how residents worked selflessly, generously, and harmoniously to self-organise, co-create and take care of a public space. The collection of porcelain deities was gradually expanded to include soft toys, plastic figurines and decorative trinkets, as younger residents participated in beautifying the community shrine. With the impending renewal of the Wah Fu housing estate, the community shrine faces a precarious future. Current residents will be assigned new flats much further away while many are moving to other housing estates. Moreover, since the shrine’s existence was not sanctioned by the authorities and there were also illegal constructions, such as the clubhouse and changing rooms built by the elders, there is a strong possibility that the community shrine will be demolished.
How do we remember the Wah Fu community shrine when it is no longer around?
What do we wish to remember about the Wah Fu community shrine?
The Project
The studio explores the archive as an act of intervention in anticipation of future memories for the community shrine in Wah Fu Hong Kong. It will investigate the archive as a transportable collection of tangible stories and materials that are entangled with the site’s social, cultural, economic and political forces. Central to the investigation are the following three questions.
How are memories (personal, collective, historical) spatialised in a transportable archive?
How are memories (personal, collective, historical) materialised in a transportable archive?
What are the tectonics and aesthetics of the transportable archive?
Hong Kong Wah Fu Site Visit
The story of Hong Kong’s Wah Fu community shrine began over 50 years ago. It was as a destination for residents living in the nearby housing estate to leave their porcelain deities when they moved or when the religion was no longer practiced by the younger generation. Over time, the community shrine became an important social space for residents of all ages and served as an informal archive of the community’s growth and transformation. Elders and retirees volunteered their time to keep the place clean and to care for the deities. Using their own resources, they also added new facilities such as a clubhouse and changing rooms for the swimmers. It is a remarkable example of how residents worked selflessly, generously, and harmoniously to self-organise, co-create and take care of a public space. The collection of porcelain deities was gradually expanded to include soft toys, plastic figurines and decorative trinkets, as younger residents participated in beautifying the community shrine. With the impending renewal of the Wah Fu housing estate, the community shrine faces a precarious future. Current residents will be assigned new flats much further away while many are moving to other housing estates. Moreover, since the shrine’s existence was not sanctioned by the authorities and there were also illegal constructions, such as the clubhouse and changing rooms built by the elders, there is a strong possibility that the community shrine will be demolished.
How do we remember the Wah Fu community shrine when it is no longer around?
What do we wish to remember about the Wah Fu community shrine?
The Project
The studio explores the archive as an act of intervention in anticipation of future memories for the community shrine in Wah Fu Hong Kong. It will investigate the archive as a transportable collection of tangible stories and materials that are entangled with the site’s social, cultural, economic and political forces. Central to the investigation are the following three questions.
How are memories (personal, collective, historical) spatialised in a transportable archive?
How are memories (personal, collective, historical) materialised in a transportable archive?
What are the tectonics and aesthetics of the transportable archive?
Hong Kong Wah Fu Site Visit
Installing the archive at the site.
Interviewing the Wah Fu community shrine caretaker.
Sharing Session at the University of Hong Kong Department of Architecture.
Walking tour of the Wah Fu Housing Estate.
Visit to the Housing Authority Wah Fu Housing Estate renewal exhibition.
Talk on community building by the social worker from Caritas.
Visit to the M+ Archive.
Visit to the Asian Art Archive.
Visit to the personal archive of artist Siu King Chung