Burger, Hong Kong

People advocate “local culture” as they experience a crisis in their own cultural identity: they don’t accept to be a part of China, and becomes nostalgic of the colonial days. I chose McDonald as a key element in my two artworks because it first opened in Hong Kong in 1973 during the colonial period to much fanfare despite being of a different culture. In my photographic work, the symbolic hamburger represents my memorable first burger in 1978. Whilst in the video work, I impersonated "Andy Warhol in eating a hamburger" in New York”, with a cultural twist. Can Hongkongers rediscover a more positive cultural identity spirit by acceptance and integration of different cultures? What belies this increasingly unhealthy identity crisis? Furthermore, I made use of lyrics from a Cantopop song in my video, “人皆尋夢, 夢𥚃不分西東。何必尋夢?” Translating to "People search for dreams, and in dreams there is no east nor west. Why do we search for our dreams?” I chose this because of its influence in the 1970s. The Artist, Sam Hui, was successful in mixing poetic lyrics in vernacular Cantonese with western style music. “Cantopop Art” is symbolic of Hong Kong’s cultural identity.