Hong Kong on display: Things, time and urban space

Abstract

Despite, and due to, its culture of consuming ‘the new’, Hong Kong contains an expansive second-hand world that encourages preoccupation with the past through pre-owned ‘things’ and related practices of displaying and collecting. This article takes on a visual approach to understanding (fragments of) Hong Kong’s urban condition by considering its second-hand world. Following an established tradition of revaluing second-hand objects (economically and otherwise), the sites where these objects are temporarily ‘exhibited’ form stages for the emergence of stories about the city, through practices of exchanging, collecting and displaying. Focusing on a selection of these objects, displayed in particular locations, an attempt is made at understanding the significance of their persistence in Hong Kong. © 2021 Intellect Ltd Short-form Article.