Recording the development of local fisheries and agriculture──Li Yingshan

Text: Chen Xiaotong

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More than ten years ago, Fiona, who was still a student of the Department of Creative Media, had the opportunity to re-understand the unnoticed sounds in space because of a subject of sound art. Since then, she has continued to develop sound effects in installations, performances, and exhibitions. As early as the "Fish Pond Yuanye Art Festival" in 2018, Fiona visited Tai Sang Wai and assisted the artist Lau Lili, who participated in the project, to record the sound of fishing, which revealed the fate of Fiona and Tai Sang Wai two years later. The curtain opens.

From the very beginning of entering the village, what impressed Fiona most directly was the sound of birds. The sounds of birds in Tai Sang Wai near the Fairview Garden and in the fish ponds are very different. After communicating with the staff of the Bird Watching Club, Fiona found that the birds in the Fairview Garden were long-lived birds in Hong Kong, and those near the fish ponds were migratory birds, but these bird calls were hard to hear in the city. It is very interesting for Fiona to understand different environments, creatures, and even the ways of human life from sound. It was the first time that Fiona participated in the art festival as an artist. The time Fiona communicated with the villagers left a deep impression: "Uncle Gen, who is in his 90s, is still alive and insists on managing the fish pond. Last time I came alone and touched The last two young people who did not know came into the village together, walked to the door of Uncle Gen’s house, told him that I was here for the preparation of the art festival, and he left us for dinner." The kind of hospitable, willing and unfamiliar person Sharing the human touch of life makes Fiona moved.

This time Fiona plans to use live performances to let the audience understand Tai Sang Wai through hearing. Before that, Fiona would observe the activities and production of the villagers in the fish pond to think about the content of the performance. "The changes in Hong Kong over the past few years have made me reflect on the fact that there are many precious resources in Hong Kong. I hope that someone will pay attention to Hong Kong's agriculture and fisheries, so that the focus of agriculture and fisheries can be developed locally." Fiona said. The self-experienced feeling is the most real. Fiona recalled the dynamics and appearance of Uncle Gen when he was working. In a short time, he couldn't find the appropriate adjective: "When a fisherman or farmer has worked hard, the food produced by us can be eaten in our stomachs. It is unspeakable. Through the performance, Fiona hopes to imprint the self-sufficient practices of fishermen and farmers in the local space and the blood and sweat of local fisheries and agriculture, and to record the precious feelings in this area of the city.

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