Set amidst the squall of Hong Kong, this project is the third iteration of FAITH XLVII’s ongoing series Aqua Regalia. The explorative video is one of the first videos for Faith to co-direct, alongside film maker Dane Dodds. The previous projects in the series came to fruition as exhibitions in London and New York City.
FAITH’s fascination with abandoned spaces has led her to discover buildings across the world that are saturated with layers of histories and memories; in this case an expansive and desolate five-story apartment block in central Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The material residue of the former residents were sifted through in search of personal relics and sentimental treasures which formed the building blocks of the installation.
Once-cherished objects, imbued with emotional value by the strangers that used to own them, are aligned with the monumental in this reconstruction process. Treating these discarded remnants in this way allows for a reinterpretation of the mundane as valuable, and everyday, personal narratives as sacred. Ultimately, creating these shrines beg to question one's invested value in objects and the inherent symbolism in the items that surround our lives.
The short film documents this process as its starting point while Faiths own words weave the images of the building with the nuanced interactions outside in the city.
These two disparate realities are interlaced, making them seem like parallel spaces existing within each other - in a sense functioning as a psychological metonym. All of the feelings these ‘spaces’ have witnessed – all the treasured memories and forgotten moments - are collapsed in on each other. While mirroring the past, present and future, the most visceral and subtle elements of being human begin to appear .
Credits:
Artist: Faith XLVII
Director: Dane Dodds
Co - Director: Faith XLVII
Score: Jannous Aukema
Assistant: Miranda Moss
Voice Over: Maria Wong
Thanks to: HKURBEX
in association with HKWALLS
FAITH XLVII 製作 FAITH XLVII 及Dane Dodds執導
Aqua Regalia，是FAITH XLVII持續製作中的影片系列，今次把第三站停在香港。這次，FAITH初嘗當導演的滋味，與電影製作人Dane Dodds共同執導，可謂充滿探險精神。之前完成的兩部系列作品——倫敦及紐約，已在當地展出。
FAITH著迷於廢置空間，她在全球尋找富有歷史感及集體回憶的建築物。今次，她在香港人口最密集的地區之一，找到了一座寬敞卻荒涼的住宅大廈。建築內，仍留有住客遺留的物品，篩選出有紀念價值的物品，這些回憶的寶藏把這座大廈構築成為一幢裝置藝術。
這些曾經被陌生人視為珍寶的物件，滿載著情感，在重建的過程中饒有紀念意義。像這樣珍視廢棄的殘跡，仿佛重新定義了平凡事物的價值，日常身邊的人事物，亦變得不再平凡。在作者描畫的回憶殿堂內，觀眾不禁懷疑：那些一度投入在事物中的感情去了哪裡？生活中隨處可見的物件又象徵著什麼？
短片一開始，FAITH用自己的語言，向我們描述這座建築物——它如何身處在這個城市，卻幾乎沒有與外界的互相影響。
內外兩種截然不同的反差共同真實存在，讓人有種看到了平行空間的心理暗示。然而，這兩個「平行空間
所共同見證的一切，都崩塌了——無論是珍藏的記憶，抑或是被遺忘了的片段。在這塊映射出過去、現在及未來的鏡面裡，人性最內心、最細微的部分開始浮現。
