How mosaics capture moments of Hong Kong history
Hong Kong’s ubiquitous mismatched mosaics have become sought-after reminders of yesteryear, artist Adrian Wong shows
“It felt like I was standing in the present and looking through a wormhole into the past,” he says.
He soon discovered that layering tiles in this way is a common short cut used when renovating old shops, flats or building facades to save on cost and time. His observations turned into a fascination for Hong Kong’s ubiquitous mosaic tiles. Designs, he noticed, were often mismatched or seemingly random.
“I got really interested in mistakes made by craftsmen and contractors,” he says. “I found a lot of beauty in this accidental collision of patterns and colours.”
Wong’s attraction to tiles shapes his artistic output. His show, “With Love from Hong Kong”, running until August 31 at the Oil Street Art Space in North Point, recreates vintage Hong Kong interiors, including 1960s-style mosaic tile patterns framed like paintings on the wall. Each pattern is slightly off kilter, like so many of the mosaic tiles you see in the stairwells of old tenement buildings, on the facades of mid-century tong lau or in old cha chaan teng such as the renowned Mido Cafe in Yau Ma Tei. “Laziness plus a couple of generations becomes charm,” quips Wong.
