From captivating photos of neon signage, revival of old Chinese calligraphic typefaces, vintage-inspired illustration to retro cafes, Hong Kong is awash with nostalgia. These instagrammable visual elements are held dear by locals and considered and promoted as the representation of Hong Kong cultural identity. I do enjoy seeing people bringing the local vernacular culture under the spotlight, but is it that’s all Hong Kong can offer? This question has been in my mind for some time, and I decided to ramble a bit here.
The meanings of nostalgia
Nostalgia, a feeling of longing for happiness brought by former times, has always been a theme of popular culture and brings people closer. To experience nostalgia, you don’t even need to be born in or grow in that period. It is about seeing the past through a rosy lens, emphasising the better or simpler days in the past and the resulting reminiscence. The related lifestyle and design elements adopted act as a pastiche for romanticising the past.
With the constant changes of the socio-political scene, and urban renewal projects, it is natural for Hong Kongers to question and to seek a definite answer of what Hong Kong is. Revitalising retro design and architecture, adopting vernacular design elements in graphic design, documenting old signage and buildings with photography, and simply supporting artists and shops of the like, give people a sense of comfort, and maybe a quick answer to the unknown we’re facing.
Offering substance or smoke and mirrors?
Nostalgia, in this sense, plays a crucial part in understanding and learning the cultural identity of Hong Kong. A love for the past can lead to a deeper understanding of our culture and history, and answer the questions which shape our identity. Activities like revitalising retro design elements and preserving the old architecture and signage, gives us an opportunity to understand, appreciate and reinterpret the past in newer, different angles. The love for these artefacts leads to people studying and archiving them, leading to conservation. By preserving the past, we have answers of who we are, and maybe a possible direction for the future.
Nostalgia only becomes a problem when we only focus on the form of the artefacts instead of their meaning and context. Vintage-inspired posters, illustrations and shops created solely based on the sentiment surely have their own aesthetic and commercial value, but how will it contribute to the discourse of cultural identity? Will it act as smokes and mirrors for these important answers? Moreover, cultural identity isn't only about the artefacts, it’s about the reasons behind the existence of these things, and the ways of living. These are always changing along with the socio-economic development of the society. If the place we live is always evolving, then why not our cultural identity? And finally, the effort could be counterproductive as focusing merely on the artefacts could lead to stereotyping our own culture, and makes foreigners understand us as the face value that becomes less relevant.
We all can enjoy nostalgia, appreciating the beautiful things that it brings, but there’s a fine line between holding on to the past and preserving the local vernacular culture. And that matters because this will decide if we can reinvent and break through from the past, and that’s how a culture, or a place, thrives.