on the way: get lost

On the Way: Get Lost
​2009
Interview with beggars - Mong Kok - Hong Kong
Video documentary 9 min 19 sec
Paper drawings by beggars, paper, coloured pencils

People travel from here to there, from starting point to the destination. We know exactly where are we going and the way for reaching the target: by bus, by subway, by taxi, by airplane, by hard working, by patient, by luck, by intelligent etc. We care our destination as the final place, thus the journey is not intended to stay for a long time. Street is just a place for “passengers” to “pass”. 
No one wants to live in the street, however not all of us got this gift. Some just “lost their way”. They lost their way in the sense that they do not know where their destination is, and/or how to achieve to the destination, or simply they are needed for help.
None of us can play the role of god to criticize whether their life is successful or failure, whereas my artwork aims to examine what they look for now and whether they still remember where their destination is.
Unexpected situation comes when I realize I actually do not know what they really need. When you give bread, actually she wants an umbrella.
When you give bread, actually he wants water and apple.
When you give bread, actually you are bothering him from gambling…

  
人們在途中來來往往, 由出發點到目的地。我們很清楚自己想到達的地方, 也知道要靠什麼工具: 巴士、鐵路、的士、飛機、勤奮、耐性、運氣、智力等等。我們重視目的地, 而很多時「在途中」是一個不長的時間; 街道亦不外是一個過渡處。
無容置疑無人想容身街頭, 但並非每人都有這福氣。有些人就是「迷途了」。  他們迷途因為忘了自己的目的地, 和∕也可能是忘了要怎樣到達; 或者可能他們就是需要協助的一羣。
無人能當上帝去批判他們, 而是次的作品希望能了解他們現在想尋求的是什麼, 或能否記得他們想尋求什麼。 

出乎意料的在創作過程發生了, 原來我也不是清楚知道他們所需。

當你給予麵包, 她需要的是一把傘子。
當你給予麵包, 他需要的是水和生果。
當你給予麵包, 他在嫌你阻礙他賭馬……