2017

Mobile camera obscura as a form of expanded cinema

Twenty-Five Minutes Older departs from a number of sources. It takes the form of a camera obscura, an optical phenomenon considered by many as a metaphor for perception. The title pays tribute to Ten Minutes Older, a 1978 film directed by Latvian filmmaker Herz Frank, about the emotional journey of small children watching a 10-minute film. A fragmentary narrative was borrowed from Liu Yichang’s Tête-bêche. The novella’s title refers to a pair of joined stamps in head-to-toe print; in a stream of consciousness, a chiasmus unfolds as the stories of two strangers intertwine.

Weaving together these threads, the twenty-five minute tram ride invites the audience to become passengers. In a contemplative time capsule, punctuated by the rocking of the tram, alongside non-stop traffic, they travel through the city and see its scenery in reverse. At times, reality of the present overlaps with the past in fiction: “next to a trendy boutique is a gas company; next to the gas company is a gold shop; next to the gold shop is a gold shop…”

A prototype of the work was made together with HKBU MVA Alumni for detour 2013. The first rendition of the work was commissioned by Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2016. Art Basel presented an expanded edition in 2017.

With excerpts from Tête-bêche by Mr. Liu Yichang

Editing and Translation by Stephanie Cheung

Music Composition by Steve Hui

Music Performed by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and Steve Hui

Voice-over by AMA, Chiara Kung

Technical design by Jason Wong

Software design by Cheuk Wing Nam

Sound Engineering by Anthony Yeung and Thomas Wenzl

Technical support by Cheung Wing Yan Rivian and Lee Chi Wai

Technical Production by Stage Tech Limited

Supported by Art Basel, MGM Arts and Culture, The Pawn, Osage Art Foundation, HKBU Academy of Visual Arts, and Hong Kong Tramways