Alleys in Wonderland




AIW is an expanding research archive on the various types of back alley businesses in the Greater Pearl River Delta.

The focus is on the relationships between space and activity, definition and restriction, connectivity and necessity. Cataloging, mapping, and digital visualisations are used to examine the oddities of alleyways in today’s Hong Kong and Macau. The aim is to look differently at various cities, and seek the traces of metropolitan life in these celebrated architectural spaces. In today’s cities, the role of back alleys as connective spaces are essential for everyday life, but what more can we explore through them?

The exhibition brought latest VR technology through Oculus Go Goggles to PMQ in order to create an immersive experience for our audience. Through the art of 360-degree films, it is possible to closely embrace a filmed surrounding. All this was important to raise the awareness of the importance of back alleys to our daily urban environment. Thereby, a discussion about a renewed definition of back alleys is triggered. We need to look even closer to explore the value of these spaces, as every street space holds the qualities of a lane. The definition of a lane is the search of an ideal space, a paradise, which offers the possibility to explore diverse public interactions on Asia’s street level.

PMQ, Central Hong Kong, Sept 6 - Sept 27 2019.
This Project is supported by Design Trust Seed Grant
An initiative of the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design
Link ︎︎︎


Photography by Yongki Sunarta @yongkisunarta

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