Graduation Thesis :: 07-08 CIL

SM4140 Graduation Thesis

Arfee

Project Title : Floating City – Imaginary Landscape

Advisor : Linda Lai Chiu Han

Category : Visual ethnography + web archive + installation

“浮城,想像地景” Project Proposal

“浮城,想像地景”

The Floating City, Imaginary Landscape

SM 4140 Graduation Thesis 07-08// SCM CIL studio

Chan Kwun Yee, Ar Fee// 50692653

:: Introduction ::

The city’s stories consist of many different narratives of its histories, which some is being more dominant while some is being ignored. They may compensate each other, or contradict. Symbols, metaphors and allegories are created in the construction of these all narratives.

The profound variety of narratives about the city making it exists not only in geographical place, but also the imaginary space. More interestingly, the imaginary city is brimming reversely back to the “real” city, like a translucent twin floating upon the city.

:: Project Description ::

1^st phase

A virtual cityscape is to be build based on research of narratives about “Hong Kong’s story(ies)”. I would start with ethnographic approach, collecting and studying narratives of Hong Kong. The collectibles will be analysed and creatively integrated, then turned into an archive website, as another text(s) to read the city, named as “The Floating City”.

Using the form of an archive website, the narrative structure is no more linear or coherent. The Floating City consists of varied kinds of narratives, there may be fabrications, or even fragments. Readers may wander around like a flâneur in the imaginary space.

2^nd phase

The virtual cityscape will be built and keep updating throughout the middle stage of the project, playing a role for further researching. Further research will be focused on how users respond to the virtual cityscape. Experimental travelling based on the virtual cityscape will be conducted.

The travelling experiments will be recorded for analysis and further development. All the materials will be integrated into a final output in the form of installation to be presented.

 

 

 

———-::: Imaginary Landscape in 2 levels :::——————–

[1] Ethnography in “representations”

 I, the researcher, walk through the imaginary landscape created by

other authors.

[2] Virtual cityscape

 Readers walk through the  imaginary landscape created by me.

—————-::: Floating between “real” city (rCity)

And “imaginary” city (iCity) :::——————–

 ＞Research in rCity & iCity

＞Creative Intervention :

>>>>fabrications based on research of rCity X iCity

 >>>>>>>making another iCity

＞＞>>>>The iCity is brimming out to the rCity

:: Methodology and Significance ::

Ethnographic approach and archival concept

Playing with coding and tagging.

More open ways to access the data, the readers make their own narratives throughout the reading journeys.

The online digital form of the Floating City

Virtual space for reading the city : re-emphasize the idea of the city’s existence in imaginary.

Lead to another stage of the project

History-making

Reconsider history-writing : How is history being constructed? What is being raised and what is being ignored? Who is writing history? How is history being represented? How do the representations of history affect our understanding?

Narratives and images will be creatively integrated, data in the archive may not be coherent and can be contradictory. Multi-realities, fragmentary characteristics of history are obvious, emphasizing that history is construction of discourses.

:: Research Focus ::

Questions

How do we make sense of the city text from all these kinds of narratives?

How do the “real” city and city of representations blend together? How is the “real” city be represented and how do the “imaginary” city brim back into the “real” city?

Axis to start with

Axis A : XiXi’s My City and the series à The i-City Festival in 2005

Axis B : symbols that have obviously brimmed (e.g. image of a sailing boat in the Victoria Harbour)

:: Literature Review ::

{ Post-modern history writing } Concerning the construction of history.

Artworks :＜地圖集＞，＜天工開物．栩栩如真＞，＜永盛街興衰史＞，董啟章。

＜紀實與虛構＞，王安憶。

{ Archive } The use and implications of an archive as a narrative structure and as a form of history-writing.

Artworks : The Atlas Group.

{ flâneur } Helping to develop how a flâneur make sense of an urban space as well as an imaginary urban space.

:: Representation and the text : re-framing the narrative voice / edited by William G. Tierney and Yvonna S. Lincoln. Albany : State University of New York Press, c1997.

Postmodern cities and spaces / edited by Sophie Watson and Katherine Gibson. Oxford, U.K. ; Cambridge, Mass. : Blackwell, 1995.

Artworks : ＜沙巴翁的城市漫遊＞，張美君、蕭恒、鄧肇恒、魏家欣、史筱倩、陸小玲、顧婷芝、羅玉華、湯文鋒。

[Artworks]

＜我城＞(My City)，＜浮城誌異＞，＜肥土鎮的故事＞，西西(XiXi)。

＜ｉ－城志＞，潘國靈、謝曉虹、淡水、「傅詠欣、傅詠芹」、黎達達榮、sketchup、「想貓的魚、貓子餅餅」、楊學德、二犬十一咪、康廷、五斗米、鍾偉權、「曾奉基、鍾兆龍」、鄭廣泉、伍尚豪、蘇敏怡、劉莉莉、智海、譚孔文。

Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino.

Hong Kong collage : contemporary stories and writing / edited by Martha P.Y. Cheung. Hong Kong ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1998.

　:: Project Phase ::

		Wk 1 & 2	Wk 3&4	Wk 5&6	Wk 7&8	Wk 9&10	wk 11&12	wk 13
	~ Jan 12	Jan 14 – 26	Jan 28 – Feb 9						Apr-30
		submit GT website	Research- theoretical text	mid-term presentation			Final Draft Revision		Final project sumbission
	Literature reiview					analysing all materials together	finalising + analysing the whole process	finalising report
website		Building website structure	turning collectibles into website	Publishing website	keep updating website
Research	collecting materials	collecting + analysing materials	analysising materials	~user research	anaylising further research
Creative intervention				~experimental travelling		finalising output

Equipment Plan

Production

Sony PD150 Camera and tripod

Sony PD100 Camera and tripod

Sony Wide angle lens

Senheiser Gun mic with windshield

Audio Technica condenser gun mic

Foster FR-2 Field Memory Recorder

AKG headphones

SQN Portable Mixer

Portable Hard Disk

Exhibition

Sony DVD Player

LCD Monitor

_______________________

Advisor’s consent 22^nd November, 2007