The Hongcouver | Finding their place: Young trio seeks identity of Vancouver's Hong Kong diaspora
The Hong Kong Exile contemporary arts company draws inspiration from societies in flux
Vancouver can sometimes feel like a time-capsule of pre-handover Hong Kong. Vintage TVB soap operas play on a loop on local Cantonese channels. Roman Tam, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui provide the soundtrack to shopping mall singing contests and house parties alike.
The sense of nostalgia is palpable.
Now, a small arts company in Vancouver is asking what it means to be part of that Hong Kong diaspora. Hong Kong Exile explores this identity through theatre, music and dance.
Composer Remy Siu, 23, provides the musical perspective. Siu said the Hong Kong diaspora was in a unique position, not just for self-examination, but to observe changes taking place in Vancouver and the SAR.
“We keep asking ourselves ‘how is it different for us, living here in Vancouver?’ That’s a question we are still trying to answer….we are in this in-between, where we are not there [in Hong Kong], but we are not Western. It gives us a weird vantage point.”
Hong Kong Exile, formed in 2011, consists of Siu, Milton Lim (theatre) and Natalie Tin Yin Gan (dance), who met as students at Simon Fraser University. Their work considers the sense of otherness many in the diaspora feel, both in Canada and Hong Kong, as well as broader issues, including the rise of China.