Suenn Ho’s Kowloon Walled City Research Archive 何巽的九龍城寨研究項目檔案
This video footage was produced by Suenn Ho during her ten-month research on the Kowloon Walled City between 1989 and 1992, before the city’s complete demolition in 1993.
Ho’s hours of footage, taken while meandering through the densely packed urban enclave, take the form of voyeuristic glimpses and conversations with residents and shopkeepers during the last phase of their relocation.
The footage reveals the role of inhabitants in shaping the built environment and bringing vitality to a place, regardless of its spatial limitations.
Ho captured dripping water while walking through narrow, dingy alleys, the bustling activities of street-level shops and food manufacturers, rooftop views of aeroplanes landing at nearby Kai Tak Airport, and inhabitants’ reluctance to leave the city’s once tight-knit community.Her project presents one of the more extensive video documentations of the Kowloon Walled City’s internal spatial configuration, as well as its social and physical conditions. Ho’s footage provides a unique perspective, different from other documentaries on the Kowloon Walled City, such as those by RTHK (1988) and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (1989) (whose recordings are included in this set of videos) and the book The City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City (1993) by Ian Lambot and Greg Girard.
This set of videocassettes also includes extensive interviews with researchers on the Kowloon Walled City, such as Michael Chang and Liang Tao.
In addition to the videocassettes, the archive includes a set of maps showing the routes taken by Ho and her research team through the Kowloon Walled City.
The entire archive of this project was donated to M+ by Suenn Ho in 2015.
Arranged by original reference number.
Digital versions of part of the video footage were supplied to the Wall Street Journal Asia for their 2014 online exhibition on the Kowloon Walled City.
Ho’s hours of footage, taken while meandering through the densely packed urban enclave, take the form of voyeuristic glimpses and conversations with residents and shopkeepers during the last phase of their relocation.
The footage reveals the role of inhabitants in shaping the built environment and bringing vitality to a place, regardless of its spatial limitations.
Ho captured dripping water while walking through narrow, dingy alleys, the bustling activities of street-level shops and food manufacturers, rooftop views of aeroplanes landing at nearby Kai Tak Airport, and inhabitants’ reluctance to leave the city’s once tight-knit community.Her project presents one of the more extensive video documentations of the Kowloon Walled City’s internal spatial configuration, as well as its social and physical conditions. Ho’s footage provides a unique perspective, different from other documentaries on the Kowloon Walled City, such as those by RTHK (1988) and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (1989) (whose recordings are included in this set of videos) and the book The City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City (1993) by Ian Lambot and Greg Girard.
This set of videocassettes also includes extensive interviews with researchers on the Kowloon Walled City, such as Michael Chang and Liang Tao.
In addition to the videocassettes, the archive includes a set of maps showing the routes taken by Ho and her research team through the Kowloon Walled City.
The entire archive of this project was donated to M+ by Suenn Ho in 2015.
Arranged by original reference number.
Digital versions of part of the video footage were supplied to the Wall Street Journal Asia for their 2014 online exhibition on the Kowloon Walled City.
Details
Object Number
CA17
Archive Creator
Archival Level
Fonds
Date
1988–1992
Object Count
22 items
Credit Line
M+, Hong Kong. Gift of Suenn Ho, 2015
