Lam Tung Pang

香港社會不斷演變，不少社區在急速發展下，剩下的往往只有居民腦海裡的記憶。為剖析此一現象，香港藝術家林東鵬透過深入了解地區居民的心聲，創作了壁畫「歷史與想像—黃埔」。這副數碼合成作品，融合了黃埔區街坊的繪畫創作與藝術家的獨特風格。通過複雜的過程，把藝術家的線條作品與黃埔區街坊的筆墨線條圖案掃描結合於數碼畫布上，製作出這幅描繪當區社群生活的大型壁畫。作為土生土長的黃埔人，林東鵬對創作過程感受至深，並致力把記憶、想像與現實交織融合在一起。在計劃開始之時，他先搜羅該區的歷史圖片，再透過與黃埔和紅磡地區社群的對話，共同建構對該區的珍貴回憶。「對我而言，從書本了解該區歷史固然有趣。但 能夠在工作坊上，與在該區生活了40多年的社群、舊 街坊對話更加難能可貴，帶給我不能從書本找到的啟發 及見解。」正正就是這些珍貴的回憶，建構出作品比 對黃埔由重工業船塢地帶蛻變為住宅區的百年變遷。 當年參與作品創作的小三學生，在作品正式揭幕時已升上中學，令林東鵬深受感動。藝術家透過簡單問題，就是年輕學生們的每日所見所聞來激勵他們的創意，為作品提供了豐富的點子。林東鵬表示:「小學生的技巧雖然不成熟，卻為作品加入了最有趣的元素:原始和創意。作品完成後，一位學生告訴我他再也不能畫出這樣的圖畫，而圖畫已經被永遠保存!故此，這幅創作也同時充滿了新生代的回憶。」 作品刻上了學生的名字，把集體記憶牢牢地紀錄在牆上，正如不少老字號的本地冰室和商店或許已隨著發展而流逝，但當中的回憶與情懷郤始終常在。香港將繼續經歷變遷，但「歷史與想像—黃埔」紀錄社區集體回憶的功能將會歷久存在。正如林東鵬說:「景觀面貌在於視覺層面， 但背後藏有千絲萬縷的經歷與回憶。如果沒有藉 著藝術來記載歷史，回憶很快會被時光吞噬。這 幅創作正好把歷史留存，啟發下一代去感受和 探索。」

Hong Kong is a city that constantly reinvents itself, where memory is all that lasts in areas transformed by redevelopment. This is the issue addressed directly by Hong Kong artist Lam Tung-pang who delved deeply into the psyche of local people to create the mural ‘History and Imagination — Whampoa’. The digital collage blends drawings by local Whampoa residents with the artist’s own distinctive artistic style. In an intricate process, the artist’s line drawings and residents’ charcoal drawings were scanned and placed together on a digital canvas and printed as one monumental image, depicting all facets of local life. Having been born and raised in Whampoa, the process for Tung-pang was deeply personal, where the lines between memory and reality are deeply blurred. At the start of the project, he consulted local historical photos before approaching the local community for them to share their memories of the area. “It was very interesting as I learnt the history of the area from books, but the workshops provided me with insights that I simply could not find in a library, particularly from people who lived in the area for more than 40 years.” It was those memories that framed the artwork’s contrast between Whampoa’s former industrial and trading identity as a dockland area with its present as a residential neighbourhood. For Tung-pang, the unveiling of the piece was particularly poignant as some of the children who had contributed drawings in Primary 3 were starting Secondary School. To inspire the young students, the artist has asked simple questions about what they saw every day, and the results are a rich tapestry of local sights. “The Primary School children offer the most interesting technique, which is raw, creative, but still not yet mature. When it was completed, a student told me: ‘I could never draw like this anymore and now it’s permanent!’ So the piece is filled with their memories too,” Tung-pang says. Etching the children’s names in the artwork was another way that collective memory is forged on the wall, as are the drawings of popular local cafes and shops, some of which have been lost to development but remain in memories. Hong Kong will continue to change, but History and Imagination — Whampoa will stand testament to the collective experience of the local people. As Tung-pang says, “Landscape exists on a visual level but underneath lies a whole tapestry of experiences and memories. Without an artwork to record our history, so much could easily be lost to the sands of time, and that’s why it is so gratifying to have this mural for future generations to enjoy, explore and be inspired by.”