Neon signs on a Mong Kok street, “ding ding” trams sounding their bells, milk tea at traditional cha chaan teng cafes – images such as these are what usually come to mind when one thinks of Hong Kong culture.
During this year’s Hong Kong art week, indie collective N+ Museum are confronting how the city is increasingly caricatured by nostalgic tropes in “Hong Kong Nostalgia-Bait”, an exhibition that asks: what gets left when memory is treated as a commodity and turned into visual souvenirs? The show, featuring 19 local artists, runs until March 29.
“Nostalgia is not cringe in itself. But what’s cringe is people trying to use nostalgia to make it consumable … trying to just get as much money as they can with nostalgia,” says Renee Lui, an independent curator and a co-founder of N+ Museum.
