It's all about the past these days. Nostalgia, memories, vintage clothing and imagining yourself to be part of that era. The Straits Times did a whole special on New Nostalgia meeting Old Nostalgia on Sunday, and it was fascinating reading up on all the old places and people's recollections of the past, it makes me wish I had colourful stories to tell as well. How apt a reflection topic even as we're in the midst of the second day of Chinese New Year, as we go from house to house listening to the same stories about the past, yet I never tire of hearing tales of my dad stealing huge chicken drumsticks meant for ancestral worship because he was greedy.
Maybe that's why I love Sheung Wan, a beautiful place on Hong Kong Island featuring the Western Market, streets selling antiques and old posters and immensely cool propaganda. The buildings that flan the place remind me of colonial times, with the mud-brown brick buildings and trams that chug by. It was exhilarating being part of that pseudo past experience, and I decided to do my visual comm project there, making Jings pose for my black and white shots. Now I get to cook up any story I want about a person living in Hong Kong thirty years ago on a quiet afternoon ahead in Pacific Coffee, a place where I love to be by myself and let my mind drift. The cooler past, it's funny how the past provides inspiration for today.
