Book traces the decline and revival of Hong Kong Hakka village Pak Sha O
A Living Space: The Homes of Pak Sha O written after artist Wong Suk-ki wandered into a deserted Hakka village
While hiking through Sai Kung Country Park 10 years ago, Hong Kong artist Wong Suk-ki wandered into a secluded Hakka village and was immediately struck by the condition of the traditional buildings. She expected to find rundown homes occupied by the odd elderly farmer at Pak Sha O, but instead discovered mostly retired British expats living in what seemed like holiday cottages.
"When I peeked inside, I was, like, 'Wow, dream house'. They're very relaxing," says Wong, now a lecturer at Baptist University's Academy of Visual Arts.
Her fascination with Pak Sha O endured even as she pursued other creative endeavours - a photographic exhibition and publishing a cultural magazine called Klack (2009-12).
So when Wong secured funding for "A Living Space", a biennial art project looking at quality of life, she found her way back to the village in 2013 to document its story.
"My intention is always to dig into issues, to see, because you never know the truth, to get more stories that inspire you to understand what's happening," she says.
The result is A Living Space: The Homes of Pak Sha O, a 322-page ethnographic portrait of the village through oral history, photography and archival records. It is produced under the Through Our Eyes (TOE) photography education programme that Wong runs, in conjunction with an academy offshoot, the Kaitak Centre for Research and Development in Visual Art.