Location in the map

Since the research area is quite a long street, at this moment I would like to focus my study on part of it as illustrated below:

Methodology: Visual elements

banners/sticker (1st draft) :

Case Reference

Streets in Hong Kong, Taiwan

Regarding to the project so far, I would like to draw the attention towards Lefebvre’s point of the three moments of space as illustrated in The Production of Space. To start with, the spatial practice of Sai Yeung Choi Street South frames our behaviors there and yet, couples of people try to find a way to express themselves in another way. Besides commercial practice along each corners of the street, a theatre group is having performance in this weekend, yet next weekend there will be a forum organized by political party. I doubt if these kinds of practice can be regarded as a social practice from pedestrians there everyday. It seems most of them are organized by professional people in a way of top-down view. Is there any way for us to voice out as an individual along the street?

Concerning that I would like to have a few examples as reference, to see how a street can change its spatial practice and having channels for people to voice out in different ways. Let’s talk about a street not far from Sai Yeung Choi Street South first, the practice of Langham Place. If not to mention the beginning of the construction costs removing the whole old street and buildings there, Langham Place itself serves as a community that stay away from its neighbors. It needs to attract people to go there by organizing some live music shows. Stage is made outside the shopping mall and the streets there are reserved for audience to the show. Sad to say it is another practice that held by government and company.

Let’s talk a little about Shimending (西門町) in Taiwan. Like the Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Hong Kong it serves as the heart of Taipei city. Teenagers spend their spare time there. Unlike our street which is only a kind of straight line, Shimending represents an area in Taiwan. There also have stages made for various performances and yet, unlike what we have so far, Taipei people can go on to the stage when it is unused and enjoy their ‘on-stage’ experience there. In my viewpoint the social practice of Shimending seems both close to us in the body activities and yet far from us in the way of openness in expressing.

Another example is the temple fair held in Tai Kwok Tsui in Kowloon. In last year practice one street is reserved by the Social Service Centre there to organize a Poon Choi Feast, over a thousand people gather there to enjoy their dinner together. In this spatial practice my only concern is that, it is enjoyed by only people living around there. Again, the question of openness remains unsolved here.

related links
http://www.ura.org.hk/
Love Music@砵蘭街巡迴路演
大角嘴廟會千人盆菜宴
西門町

Reference: artworks made in response to the research theme

1) video installation:
Zen in Sai Yeung Choi, DV, 6mins (w/mixed media)

2) experimental video:
Mong Kok in a wipe, video made with MAX/MSP

New Sai Yeung Choi: a beginning

Content:
Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok is famous all over the world with the crowd during holidays. I would like to have that as my base on the critical theory of society project. Actually I do not have a clear goal for the project but I would like to build up a platform for people to join, under the ‘author as producer’ approach proposed by Walter Benjamin. Likewise, I would like to make the project similar to that of situationist Constant’s New Babylon. I would like to visualize Constant’s idea of Mong Kok in web form.

Methodology:
The use of Blog.
Design posters, graffiti, or any promotional means of visual elements that are going to post along Sai Yeung Choi Street to ask people to join the blog.