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Woodcraft artisans celebrate heritage of carpentry in Hong Kong in exhibition of furniture, carving and decorations

Woodcraft is having a revival in Hong Kong, and a new exhibition showcases contemporary takes on it and old techniques such as mortise and tenon joints

The carvings, furniture and decorations on display tell ‘each craftsman’s story and their emotional connection to the objects’, its co-curator says

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Vivian Law is among the exhibitors in “Stories Encapsulated: Wood” at Crafts on Peel in Hong Kong, a celebration of woodcraft by traditional craftsmen and contemporary artisans.

Published: 11:27am, 21 Jan 2022Updated: 11:32am, 21 Jan 2022

In the 1950s and 60s, timber yards and sawmills were common sights in Hong Kong, the industry feeding construction, shipbuilding and furniture making.

“The timber industry was flourishing back then,” says Penelope Luk, creative director of Crafts on Peel, a charitable organisation that helps revive traditional crafts.

“There were many timber yards – even Whampoa Garden was a shipbuilding yard where timber was processed,” she says, referring to the private housing estate in Hung Hom, Kowloon built on land reclaimed from Whampoa Dock, which operated from the 1860s until 1984. “I don’t think many people know that about the city’s past.”

Luk says the industry suffered when Hong Kong’s “economic paradigm shifted to finance and tourism”. Other factors that led to the decline of timber yards included a flood of cheap imported furniture and a shift in manufacturing to mainland China.

Chamber of Time by Siu Ping Keung in collaboration with Ken Chow, using white oak wood and camphor wood (2021). Photo: Siu Ping Keung/Crafts on Peel

Today, however, the timber trade is showing signs of a revival, says Luk, sparked by 2018’s Typhoon Mangkhut, which saw 7,000 tonnes of timber – that’s 5,500 truckloads – from trees felled by the storm end up in landfills. “People started asking why wood that was filling landfills was not being reused,” she says.

To celebrate this new wave, Luk has co-curated “Stories Encapsulated: Wood”, an exhibition of work by traditional craftsmen and contemporary artisans at Crafts on Peel, in Central, that runs until May 21.

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