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Last glimpse of Hong Kong: Hong Kong Chief Executive
最後一渺：香港行政長官
88.9x152.4 cm, pigment ink on archival paper 噴墨照片, 2012
Lau ching ping © 2012
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「鄧凝姿與劉清平對談展」剛在上星期五在石硤尾創意藝術中心二樓「光影作坊」開幕，展期至3月18日，歡迎參觀。2月26日星期日下午3-5時有分享會，鄧凝姿和我恭候各位朋友會面傾談。展覽展出了鄧凝姿最新的畫作和我以4x5相機拍攝的攝影照片，今次展示的作品仍然是以全菲林拍攝，大部份是Kodak Ektar100 4x5彩色負片，相機分別是Linhof Master Technika和Graflex Crown Graphic。鏡頭是Rodenstock 和Kodak Ektar Lenses。展出噴墨照片的顏色和色調對應創作原來意念，經過多次試驗調校，希望你到現場親眼感受。但如果你未暇到來，這裡先刊出我個人部分的創作文字，以方便先作閱讀。
給2013
如果你在閱讀這篇向後回望的文字，相信已經可以肯定的說明你已平安順利的度過了2012。
作為這個年代的香港人，再會因「末日」的理由作為題旨，無論是因為甚麼樣的事情，想起來自己也感到可笑，畢竟這許多許多年以來，我們每次都由差不多的事件因由而這樣嚇大的。不用說得太遠，從八十年代開始，朋友同學親戚爭相逃離香港，移居外地；爭取居英權；沒有想過或沒有能力離開的，心裡也著實掛著愧疚。九七回歸、董伯伯、母語教學、亞洲金融風暴；紐約九一一、高官問責制、沙士疫情、七一遊行、雷曼事件、金融海嘯、匯豐供股、禽流感傳播。我們都習慣了每次的「百年一遇」。歷史教導我們：今年今月今日遇到的危疾、災難、風暴難關，過了今天再說吧！
末日意識是每個香港人的遺傳基因，每天在腦內操練了幾百次的通識題目。有時讓人煩厭、有時感覺麻木。世故如我會原諒香港以外的世界，確實未曾跟香港有相同的歷練，「2012」畢竟是香港歷來水準以下的末日題材。商業上甚至比情人節或聖誕節更炒不起、更沒市場。
我想我和鄧凝姿都是典型香港人，沒有在世界完結之前，為自己先作打算。沒有先在時間大限之前，我們竟然每月為個人創作的瑣事而會面，沒有比這種不切實際的行動，讓我感覺到自己更像一個見慣風浪的香港人。
拍攝這系列照片時，想象著香港每個飽歷風霜的各個階層人物，在不同的城市角落，為曾經有過生活或文明的痕跡留下印記；當然你會問那誰會最後留下？誰是觀眾？如果你在當下，那正好就是你吧！
拍攝時我在想象著特首辦公的地點，想象著他觀看維多利亞港的視線，拍下他最後見到的香港景象。他最後看到的是西九的對岸？還是剛建成瀰漫著退伍軍人魂魄的政府大樓？想象在大埔道的巴士司機，看到象征著文明進步的高壓電纜；在濾水廠的專業人員、在草地足球場旁的球迷、在公屋居屋豪庭的家庭主婦、在天星碼頭孤獨的推銷員、在海洋公園旁的導遊、在青馬橋下的婚紗攝影師、在沙灘等待陽光流動的小學同學。我架起三腳架，拉開鏡頭，從磨沙玻璃望著倒轉的影像，玻璃的表面反映著另一個身後的光影。裸眼凝視對焦放大鏡再望入磨沙玻璃；對應學習繪畫時，架起畫架，拿著畫筆、眯起眼睛：觀看世界、觀看世界的透視、比例、結構和形態。在創作繪畫最初眯起眼睛的觀看，白濛濛的模糊景觀，竟然跟世界終結時的想象不謀而合，剎那爆發的光芒讓人一樣張不起眼睛。
層層交疊的景象最容易築起感性的觸覺，但形而上的意識又無不跟現實和生活交纏。創作的交談每次都從抽象的想象重返人間，或者每次希望探索宇宙的感性飛船從來都沒有發射成功，每次離地昇空都在空中忽然墮地。事故原因不離無意想到城市生活的空氣、教育、文化。
告別的年代：告別繁體中文字和廣東話、告別香港電影電視節目、最後的兩位廣東歌作詞人、醫院床位、嬰兒奶粉、食物安全、東江水、白海豚的消亡。取而持續發展的是跟香港人無關的民望調查、空喊口號的政治人物、讓康樂成為文化的民政事務局、大學的保安和學術自由的新定義、有自由行自駕遊、有消費和市場成為所有出版作業的核心價值……
如果抱著豁達而積極的態度，大可以說過程比結果來得重要，珍惜每天為生命的最後一天。作為香港人，好像只有沒設日期的告別和沒有限期的末日。每天都是最後，明天不會比今天更好。
我不知道每次的世界末日，能留下的存活率是多少；先要感謝勇敢的鄧凝姿願意和我完成此難得的創作機會。
在電腦螢幕顯現的菲林底片掃描的微塵，比起窗前的天狼星還要大和明亮；想象光速飛行十六年從天狼星剎那往返人間，面前的微塵在意識排序上可能緲小得不復存在。正如現在的你在2013年回望那過去了的時間，大致已經可以忘記得七七八八了吧。
劉清平 2013
To 2013
If you are reading this exhibition epilogue, that means you had survived 2012 safe and sound.
People of Hong Kong that live in this era would still be writing something about world ends thing, no matter what is the reason behind, is a laughable matter. After all, we are being intimidated by this world ends thing from the day when we were born. Not so long ago, in the eighties, our relatives, friends flee for foreign land, fight for British nationality selection scheme. Those who did not plan to leave or did not have the ability to leave, left themselves a hole in their hearts. The return of sovereign right to China in 1997, Mr. Tung’s, mother tongue tutoring, Asian financial crisis. 911 New York, principal officials accountability system, SARS pandemic, 1st July rally, Lehman brothers, financial tsunami, HSBC share subscribe, bird flu contagion. We are so used to this ‘centennial level’ of incidents, so called crisis, for what history taught us is to let those fatal disease, bankruptcy and catastrophe be awaited, for tomorrow is another day !
Hong Kong people are already immune to this world ends syndrome, we have it inherited in our genes, despite that, we still get numb, get annoyed. We pardon those who do not have this kind of experience as we did, it’s just not the kind of experience that an average earthling should have. ‘2012’ is a bland subject for us, way beyond compared with Valentine’s Day or Christmas commercially. Stella and me are typical Hong Kong people. We committed ourselves monthly to discuss tedious matters of our exhibition, there’s no other kind of impractical behavior to make us feel more like : we have been there before.
When I employed myself in this series of photography, while imagining in every corner, every constant, the drained people of Hong Kong leave marks in their city, traces of their civilization. Of course, who will stay until the end ? Who’s the audience ? If you are alive, that would be you !
When I took the photographs of the new government buildings, I imagine the chief executive looking at the Victoria Harbour coastline, photographing the last glimpse of his vision of Hong Kong. Is he looking at the West Kowloon across the harbour ? Or the new government buildings that are haunted by the soul of the veterans ? Imagine the bus drivers when they drive pass Tai Po road, encounter the high voltage electric wire that symbolises civilization, or the professionals in the water treatment plant, the football fans in grass sports ground, the housewives in public housing or luxurious mansions, the lonely salesman at Star ferry pier, the tour guide outside Ocean Park, the wedding photographer underneath the Tsing Ma bridge, the school kids on the beach waiting the sun rays to flow. I set my tripod up, open the lens, seeing the inverted image through the ground glass, the glass surface review another reflection from behind. With naked eyes, I use the magnify glass head on with ground glass for viewing and focus; in relation to drawing, when you set up the easel, pen holding far reach for an arm length, narrow your eyes to view the perspective of world, the proportion, the structure and form in front of us. This narrowing of our eyes when we draw, the white and blur scenery coincide with the action when the world ends, the great explosion force our eyes to narrow down again so as not to pierce by its radiant light.
Layers and layers of images could easily arouse sensuality, on the other hand, metaphysical sense overlaps with reality. The creative dialogues repetitively bring abstract thinking back to our living self, or the spaceship for universe exploration never ever had a successful launch, she took off and then to be found fallen on the ground again. The reason behind the story never falls from the polluted city, education and culture. To the people of Hong Kong, we are forced into indifference, take it for granted already.
The time has come. Adieu, traditional Chinese characters and Cantonese, Hong Kong movies, television shows, the last two Cantonese lyricists, beds in hospitals, infant milk powder, food safety, Dongjiang water supply, the last China White dolphin. The replacement would be the political poll survey, politician and their propaganda, Home Affair Bureau thinks that recreation is top cultural priority. Academic freedom and university campus security were brought to an unprecedented level, the core value of publishing only rests on consumerism and marketing.
Live and be prosperous. The process is more important than the result. As people of Hong Kong, what we have is an undated goodbye, doomsday without timeline. Make every day the last day of your life, tomorrow is another no better day. I do not know, whenever there is a doomsday, how many people could survive. At this very moment, I sincerely thank the brave Stella for sharing with me this creative experience that has no past.
The dust from the scans of film negative shown on the monitor is the larger and brighter than the star Sirius hanging outside my window. Imagine to travel sixteen light years back from Sirius to earth, the conscience priority of the dust that rest on the monitor would be so minute as if it ceases to exist. When the thyself of 2013 look back to this very moment of your present self, you might as well forget it completely already.
