“Hau”, the Cantonese name for horseshoe crab, is a unique animal with a history of several million years. They have alien-like appearances and distinctive blue blood. The name of Hau Tei Square, a traditional street with small vendor shops forming a flea market in Tsuen Wan district reminds us of a little piece of history that this area used to be the habitat of Horseshoe crabs, but they no longer exist here due to urban development, pollution and overfishing. This kind of streets is also gradually replaced by modern shopping malls and luxury shops. The process of breaking the glass symbolised the suffering and disappearance of this animal as well as the possible fate of traditional cultures and memories.
By creating a situation where fragments of the past come back to the present time, my work intends to create a surreal and unexpected moment where Hau returns to its original habitat and create dialogues between wildlife and urban development, memories and present, time and space, reality and hypothetical situation. It also intends to inspire people to treasure what is existing and what might soon disappear, regardless of creatures, memories, or cultures.
By creating a situation where fragments of the past come back to the present time, my work intends to create a surreal and unexpected moment where Hau returns to its original habitat and create dialogues between wildlife and urban development, memories and present, time and space, reality and hypothetical situation. It also intends to inspire people to treasure what is existing and what might soon disappear, regardless of creatures, memories, or cultures.