This project, through the use of virtual and actual exhibition sites explores the relationship between emotional memories and documentary practice.

The sense of place and spirit of those most intricately linked to the water in the coastal city of Hong Kong; the Tanka People, is and revealed, asking; how the spirit of the water lives on in some whilst forgotten by others.

The project employs a deliberately collaborative, co-archived approach, looking at the transition from the economic boom (year) to the current decline of the fishing industry alongside the liminal spaces linking the past with the present. 

The viewer is left with an epitaph to a “Golden Era”; as the inherent harmony with nature and the psychological link between land and water of the boat dwellers is broken.

The colours, sounds, and chi of life on the water in this dynamic city are fading. This work takes an initial step towards recording this important aspect of Hong Kong’s history through image making and collaboration