Hong Kong culture and its people’s relationship with food explored in art exhibition SAD Kitchen: Oi! Guide – A Comfort Food Journey

Silas Fong Sum-yu set up the interactive exhibition SAD Kitchen: Oi! Guide – A Comfort Food Journey as part of his artist residency at Oi! in North Point

Through a series of interactive exhibits and videos, it looks at the concept of comfort food, and how Hong Kong people relate to eating together

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Communal eating, comfort food and Hong Kong culture are the subjects of “SAD Kitchen: Oi! Guide – A Comfort Food Journey”, an interactive exhibition by Silas Fong Sum-yu (above). Photo: Oi!

Published: 11:15am, 6 Sep 2023

Among the many ways a community can express itself, food is one of the most accessible, down-to-earth and universal. However, it is also deeply personal – no two people have the exact same experience with food, and every person has a different relationship to the kitchen.

During the coronavirus pandemic, social distancing stopped the fundamentally human experience of sharing space and eating together, creating a social barrier in spaces that used to be communal.

This inspired Silas Fong Sum-yu to create “SAD Kitchen: Oi! Guide – A Comfort Food Journey”, an interactive exhibition that is part of his artist residency at Oi!, a government-owned art space in North Point.

SAD stands for School of Artists Development, Fong’s ongoing conceptual project which responds to his inquiries into arts- and education-related topics through installations, videos and publications.

Silas Fong Sum-yu’s “SAD Kitchen: Oi! Guide – A Comfort Food Journey” is an interactive exhibition at Oi! art space in Oil Street, North Point, Hong Kong. Photo: Oi!

The focus on comfort food is not so much on the food itself, but the concept of it.