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Don't Say Goodbye: An Exploration of Spatial Politics in Hong Kong
An exploration of spatial issues in Hong Kong using animations, filmed footage and excerpts from a Jackie Chan film. 26 mins / English / Cantonese / PAL.
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| Video information | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Zanny Begg |
| Directed by | Zanny Begg |
| Contact | write the producer |
| Home page | more info |
| Produced | 2008/03/19 |
| Duration | 26 minutes 0 seconds |
Full description
What exactly is the mode of existence of social relationships? ...The study of space offers an answer according to which the social relations of production have a social existence to the extent that they have a spatial existence; they project themselves into a space, becoming inscribed there, and in the process producing that space itself – Henri Lefebvre.
In May 2007 I spent a month in Hong Kong as an artist researcher involved in the occupation of Queen’s Pier. The pier was built in 1954 as the official landing place for the Queen and the British colonial government and formed part of the Star Ferry transport system between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. In December 2006 the government knocked down the clock tower and one arm of the pier in a long planned move to extend Hong Kong Island 18 hectares into the harbour and redevelop the site. For the months leading up to the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China Queen’s Pier became the symbol for a growing movement against privatization and over development of public space.
This film draws on the experiences of Queen's Pier to explore a tridialectic of social space looking at different ways in which various communities within the megopolis of Hong Kong have created "social space" for themselves including the large numbers of domestic migrant workers who regularly transform shopping centres and bank foyers into recretaional facilities and some of the more historical experiences within the autonomist zone of Kowloon Walled City.
The film combines animation, filmed footage and footage from an old Jackie Chan film which was filmed within Kowloon Walled City before it was destroyed.
