LOK WONG: [Cantonese] Hello, today we’re at Montane Mansion in Quarry Bay. Montane Mansion is actually one of five interconnected buildings [that form this complex]. Together, they are: Oceanic Mansion, Montane Mansion, Fok Cheong Building, Yick Fat Building and Yick Cheong Building.

From above, the five buildings form an E-shaped complex with shops at the podium level and mixed-use units inside the buildings. The complex is a world unto itself providing residents with the facilities that fulfil their basic needs. Looking up from the courtyard, the five densely packed buildings become an intimidating leviathan. The intricate rectangles occupy every space within sight resembling a spreadsheet waiting to be filled in. Today, the Eastern District has transformed into a diverse community where Grade-A offices and old tenement buildings coexist.

Montane Mansion’s unique structure stands in stark contrast. It attracts many creative workers who use the complex as a source of inspiration to create artworks.

In the M+ Collections, ‘Circus’ by American abstract artist Mark Bradford references Montane Mansion. Its creation is based on layered architectural drawings and urban landscape images resemble an infrared thermography image of a building with red and green lines. Although this work has a futuristic composition, the combination of bright red and olive green evokes the imagery of traditional handmade signs and window grilles of old tenement buildings. Bradford often reconstructs urban cityscapes through techniques, such as collage, sanding and spray painting. The artist metaphorically portrays the five buildings as a colourful circus. On the surface, it’s a world with an endless variety of experiences, but, behind this facade, there is a potential source of conflict. This work is a tribute to the unique aesthetics of Hong Kong and a reflection of hidden social issues, as Montane Mansion and other buildings have developed in a haphazard way.

German photographer Michael Wolf lived in Hong Kong for a long time, and used Montane Mansion as his subject. His practice focused on documenting urban life in Asia. In his work, ‘Architecture of Density, No.119’, he trimmed the sky and the podium of Montane Mansion turning the complex into a 2D pattern, [Through Wolf’s lens] the horseshoe structure is flattened, losing its boundaries. You may wonder ‘Could this structure extend endlessly?’

What does Montane Mansion mean to local makers? This Hong Kong 4As poster by Hong Kong designer Sandy Choi, features the Montane Mansion as its background. In the black-and-white inner courtyard

there is a unit painted with hot pink and written ‘Relieve Constipation at Flat 4A’, the text ‘Flat 4A’ symbolises the ‘HK4As’ referring to the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong. Aimed at encouraging industry creativity, this award doubles as a cure for ‘creative constipation’. The hot pink colour of the poster also resembles the colour of memo notes which some creatives use for brainstorming. Through the designer’s alteration, Montane Mansion becomes a local symbol of our haphazard yet utilitarian way of doing things.

Other than these objects from the M+ Collections. Montane Mansion is also frequently captured in works by other local and international makers of moving image works. This unique architecture gradually permeated diverse visual art mediums and served as a microcosm of the city.

As someone living in Hong Kong, how do the different ways of looking at our city inspire you?