Housing Memories:  The Eclipse of a Hainan Tribe 

In 2009, an expedition of students and artists from the School of Art, Design and Media in Singapore trevelled to Hong Shui Village, the last vestige of traditional Li architecture and culture.  Hidden in the remote, jagged mountains of China’s Hainan Island, the entire village had been designated for demolition as part of the government’s relocation scheme to move all rural families into standardized concrete housing.  The China Exploration and Research Society had intervened and successfully preserved some of the last adobe and thatch homes from destruction.  

Due to its rugged location and no road access, the village had maintained the traditional lifestyle of the Li people, a unique and indigenous culture in China with their own language, history, arts and rituals.  However, upon the arrival of the student team, it was clear that the shift to modern ways was already deeply in progress.  Instead of handicrafts and traditional costumes, the students encountered a village in the throes of a dramatic and immediate transformation. 

Most cultures entered the 21^st century gradually, over generations.  The villagers of Hong Shui have made this transition in mere months; satellite cables now run down the adobe walls, motorcycles steer through the muddy walkways, the girls sing along to Chinese pop while their grandmothers sporting facial tattoos look on in wonder.  The juxtaposition between ancient and modern is jarring as thatch gives way to concrete. 

The artworks and films that resulted from the two expeditions to Hainan show a simple rural village experiencing accelerated modernization. In a world that only seems to look forward, Hong Shui village reminds us of what can be so easily left behind.  We cannot preserve things as they are, but should remember them and find new meanings in them.  

The speed and drama of the change in this small village resonates to our own lives.  We too are adjusting to a rapidly evolving society, encountering change so dramatic that we worry about our children and struggle to adapt.  In a distant mountain valley, we can see a metaphor for ourselves and the passing of our own cultural heritage.  The objects and buildings that we so easily discard hold the memory of how we once lived.  Once thrown away, the life too is forgotten. 

The expedition, films, catalogue and photo exhibition are sponsored by Canon Singapore, The China Exploration and Research Society, The School of Art Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University, and Wildlife Asia.

Project Executive Produced by Scott Hessels

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