{"id":15888,"date":"2020-03-17T13:00:29","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T05:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=15888"},"modified":"2021-06-23T16:51:13","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T08:51:13","slug":"sign-of-the-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2020\/03\/sign-of-the-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Sign of the Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dimming neon signs brighten Hong Kong\u2019s visual culture.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Chaelim Kim and Soweon Park<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNeon lights contribute to maximising the colour and attraction of Hong Kong,\u201d says Jin Park, a Korean photographer<\/a>. Attracted by exotic buildings and harbour views of Hong Kong, Park visits the city repeatedly and thinks neon signs are the major attraction for tourists in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good Old Days of Neon Signs <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong has long been known as \u201cPearl of the Orient\u201d due to the spectacular night view of neon lights. Park feels sad that neon signs he saw in Tsim Sha Tsui in September 2018 were gone when he went there again in March 2019. \u201cAnd I can see that many neon signs have been taken down,\u201d he says.
<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cNeon signs set the mood of Hong Kong in its good old days,\u201d Park adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jin Park took photos during his travel in Hong Kong.
(Photo courtesy: Jin Park)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“Neon signs set the mood of Hong Kong in its good old days.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>Jin Park<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since the 1920s, neon-filled streets have given Hong Kong its distinctive atmosphere and act as a backdrop for movies like Chungking Express and Blade Runner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kwok wrote the book Fading of Hong Kong Neon Lights \u2013 The Archive of Hong Kong Visual Culture.
(Source: Joint Publishing HK)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The colourful signs also serve as the cultural icon of Hong Kong. \u201cI think neon sign is part of our cultural identity. It\u2019s a unique culture of Hong Kong,\u201d says Brian Kwok Sze-hang, assistant professor of the School of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the author of Fading of Hong Kong Neon Lights \u2013 the Archive of Hong Kong Visual Culture<\/em>, a book which photo-documents remaining signs in Hong Kong, Kwok has conducted comprehensive research on the city\u2019s vanishing neon signs. \u201cWhen you look up at the sky, you see a unique view created by neon signs,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks\nto the lack of restrictions, neon signs with a variety of shapes, sizes and designs\nshaped Hong Kong\u2019s distinctive neon landscape. \u201cJapan has a strict policy on neon signs in terms of their\nsizes, so they\u2019re not as unique and pretty as the ones in Hong Kong,\u201d Kwok says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanishing Neon Signs <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the golden era of neon signs is gone. It is much harder to spot neon signs in major districts in Hong Kong nowadays. They are either replaced by energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LED) or taken down by the government as it has stepped up effort to restrict creation of neon signs due to safety concern since 2010. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwok agrees that the government should take down some dangerous neon signs that pose a threat to public safety but notes that preservation is equally important as neon signs are a part of Hong Kong\u2019s culture and history. He thinks the government should collaborate with some concern groups in the society to preserve this culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from government efforts, Kwok thinks that shop owners who own the signboards should also acknowledge the cultural value of neon signs. Due to tightened restrictions and high maintenance cost of neon signs, there is a trend of replacing neon signs with LED signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kwok believes neon signs have their cultural and historical value.
(Photo courtesy: Brian Kwok Sze-hang)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShop owners prefer LED signs because they are cheaper, last longer and more colourful. But I think LED lights are too strong and bright,\u201d Kwok says. \u201cNeon signs give out soft and romantic light and they are perfect for the night.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drop in demand for neon signs also leads to fewer people joining the neon sign manufacturing industry leading to decrease in supply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visual Culture Preservation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may seem that neon signs and everything relating to them are slowly being erased from the community. Yet, some organisations are working hard to preserve neon signs culture in Hong Kong while the once neon-filled streets have become neon-free streets in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of them is M+, a new\nvisual culture museum in Hong Kong that will be opened next year. It has preserved some traditional\nneon signs,\nbelieving they are the\niconic element of Hong\nKong\u2019s visual culture. \u201cGiven how much they contribute to the landscape of Hong\nKong, it will be regrettable if neon signs become less visible in the public\nsphere,\u201d a M+\nspokesperson says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, neon signs in Hong Kong\nhave been exposed to the city\u2019s maritime climate for a long time. The high\nlevel of salt in the air may corrode them, and that makes it more difficult to preserve old neon signs. The spokesperson\nof M+ says: \u201cThere is definitely collective nostalgia for a time when neon was\na vibrant and active craft, and it may only be able to survive as an artisanal\nskill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defining culture as a living thing\nthat is constantly changing and evolving, the museum believes preserving neon\nsigns may help generate new forms of expertise that can support the creation of\nneon signs in the future. The M+ spokesperson adds: \u201cKey efforts are devoted to\nensure adequate documentation of existing techniques to be used in the future.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwok also points out neon signs need to be preserved: \u201cWhat\u2019s worthy about neon signs is that they connect the community and the people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He adds that some shop owners are willing to keep neon signs though the maintenance cost is high as they mark long history of their shops. \u201cIt\u2019s like keeping a promise with the community. Neon signs symbolize honour, respect, and credibility,\u201d Kwok says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Emilie Lui<\/em>
Sub-edited by Howard Li<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Culture conservation groups are working hard to preserve neon signs, which has once been a unique icon of Hong Kong and a major attraction for tourists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1803,8],"tags":[564,1086,1286,1271],"class_list":["post-15888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-march-2020-issue","category-our-community","tag-local-culture","tag-neon-sign","tag-vintage","tag-west-kowloon-cultural-district"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15888"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16471,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15888\/revisions\/16471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}