Nønspace (2009)
1 year ago
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12. Nønspace (2009)
1 year ago
“The apparently permanent can be temporary, while the temporary could be very permanent.” - Ackbar Abbas
NønSpace
2-channel installation
dir. Nicolas Sauret & Ashley Wong
23min, 2009
NønSpace is a work that attempts to probe at the often puzzling and elusive space of Hong Kong. Through its unique history, geography and politics, Hong Kong has sprouted from a small Chinese fishing village to a globalized financial city. From British influence of Western capitalism to a return to a long lost Chinese reality, Hong Kong has formed into a place of in-betweenness.
Through interwoven voice interviews with artists, academics, architects, NønSpace approaches notions of space to reveal aspects of a city and culture that is difficult (and perhaps impossible) to underpin. Topics of density, public/private space, colonialism/post-colonialism, identity, society, urban development, and government policy quickly emerge. Through collected materials, photographs and field-recordings from a two and three year stint in Hong Kong, the creators piece back through memory in a desire to understand and in a dialogue with the city and self.
NønSpace is hazy in content and in form. The fluid construction of photographic stills and voice, speak around a city, but never at it. It is an approach to space that can be used to navigate any city and environment to explore what is behind the construction of a space and place.
Conversations with:
Linda LAI (professor, City University), Andrew LAM (director, Museum of Site), Kit LAM (sociologist, Chinese University), Warren LEUNG (independent artist), Map Office (Laurent Gutierrez & Valérie Portefaix, artists/academics), Alvin YIP (architect, Poly University) Music: Oren Ambarchi (Touch music)
Nicolas Sauret is a filmmaker and producer based in Paris. He has worked 6 years in Laos and Hong Kong where he pursued an MFA in Creative Media at City University. Since his return in France two years ago, he has co-founded Inflammable Productions, a production company that focusses on new forms of narratives for documentaries, and a dynamic collective of authors, filmmakers and photographers. He also works as project manager with the Institute for Research and Innovation of the Pompidou Center. His work has been featured in a number of exhibitions and festivals including Cinéma du Réel, Vidéoformes, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid, Tokyo Video Festival, Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and Urban Nomad Film Festival. inflammableproductions.com
Ashley L. Wong is an artist, cultural producer and researcher based in London. Born and raised in Canada, she has a BFA in Digital Image/Sound and the Fine Arts from Concordia University in Montreal, and an MA in Culture Industry from Goldsmiths', University of London. She is former project manager of Videotage - Media Art Institution in Hong Kong where she lived and worked for 2 years. She is founder of independent arts platform LOUDSPKR and international research collective DOXA. She is currently a freelance project manager for Sound and Music – UK's landmark organisation for new music and sound. She has produced numerous artistic and curatorial projects internationally and has presented work in Taipei, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Madrid, New York, and Gothenburg. loudspkr.org / doxacollective.org
NønSpace
2-channel installation
dir. Nicolas Sauret & Ashley Wong
23min, 2009
NønSpace is a work that attempts to probe at the often puzzling and elusive space of Hong Kong. Through its unique history, geography and politics, Hong Kong has sprouted from a small Chinese fishing village to a globalized financial city. From British influence of Western capitalism to a return to a long lost Chinese reality, Hong Kong has formed into a place of in-betweenness.
Through interwoven voice interviews with artists, academics, architects, NønSpace approaches notions of space to reveal aspects of a city and culture that is difficult (and perhaps impossible) to underpin. Topics of density, public/private space, colonialism/post-colonialism, identity, society, urban development, and government policy quickly emerge. Through collected materials, photographs and field-recordings from a two and three year stint in Hong Kong, the creators piece back through memory in a desire to understand and in a dialogue with the city and self.
NønSpace is hazy in content and in form. The fluid construction of photographic stills and voice, speak around a city, but never at it. It is an approach to space that can be used to navigate any city and environment to explore what is behind the construction of a space and place.
Conversations with:
Linda LAI (professor, City University), Andrew LAM (director, Museum of Site), Kit LAM (sociologist, Chinese University), Warren LEUNG (independent artist), Map Office (Laurent Gutierrez & Valérie Portefaix, artists/academics), Alvin YIP (architect, Poly University) Music: Oren Ambarchi (Touch music)
Nicolas Sauret is a filmmaker and producer based in Paris. He has worked 6 years in Laos and Hong Kong where he pursued an MFA in Creative Media at City University. Since his return in France two years ago, he has co-founded Inflammable Productions, a production company that focusses on new forms of narratives for documentaries, and a dynamic collective of authors, filmmakers and photographers. He also works as project manager with the Institute for Research and Innovation of the Pompidou Center. His work has been featured in a number of exhibitions and festivals including Cinéma du Réel, Vidéoformes, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid, Tokyo Video Festival, Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and Urban Nomad Film Festival. inflammableproductions.com
Ashley L. Wong is an artist, cultural producer and researcher based in London. Born and raised in Canada, she has a BFA in Digital Image/Sound and the Fine Arts from Concordia University in Montreal, and an MA in Culture Industry from Goldsmiths', University of London. She is former project manager of Videotage - Media Art Institution in Hong Kong where she lived and worked for 2 years. She is founder of independent arts platform LOUDSPKR and international research collective DOXA. She is currently a freelance project manager for Sound and Music – UK's landmark organisation for new music and sound. She has produced numerous artistic and curatorial projects internationally and has presented work in Taipei, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Madrid, New York, and Gothenburg. loudspkr.org / doxacollective.org
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(I know he didn't mean it in the literal sense).
The effect of time on space is a very interesting question and how it impacts the use of space, particularly the blurred lines between public and private space and hence communal space.
And how these philosophical concepts can be translated into precepts by way of legislation and urban planning.
This film sets up a relationship between the abstract/philospophical and the tangible/concrete.
Given HK's Colonial roots the questions the film poses are equally applicable across India and, to a lesser extent, the Gulf as well.
I like the analogy of hardware (infrastructure/legislation) and programming (people/usage).
Also effective is how the film narrows its scope from macro to micro from the Public to the Individual.
"The imaginary side of us is as real as the rational side." - great quote.
I wasn't a huge fan of the visuals, but their overall impact was greater than the individual parts so I guess it worked and I suppose that was (perhaps) also the point.
If you haven't seen it you must watch Chris Marker's "Sans Soleil"
imdb.com/title/tt0084628/
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. Sorry it has taken a long time to reply.
HK is unique in a way, but many of the ideas can be explored similarly in rapidly developing countries.
The film was produced and guided by the content (i.e. the interviews). It was a process of questioning and exploring an idea around the city and culture not by probing for an answer, but by looking at it from many angles and perspectives. The making of the film was also a process of discovery and trying to understand a place. The outcome was open-ended. It was also produced as a means to collaborate.
I'm glad you picked up on many of the details, which gives new light to the work for me. The visuals were drawn from an archive of photos taken from our time exploring and wandering the city over 2-3 years. So they were not produced necessarily for the film, but rather a way of delving into our personal experiences of the city.
Would love to hear more about Dubai as it seems it is even more perplexing and complex place (as read in this article: independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html)