Design Blog
Mapping the Horrors of Hong Kong's 'Lawless' Walled City
Twenty years ago, Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City, an extremely crowded, largely unsupervised encampment that at one time boasted some 50,000 residents in about 290,000 square feet, began its demolition, tearing down a settlement of more than 500 buildings and crumbling a community the South China Morning Post called "a lawless vacuum." Here brothels and gambling hubs "operated with impunity," heroin dealers eluded law enforcement, doctors practiced without licenses, and a lack of government meant building codes and sanitation regulations were nonexistent. Still, according to the Morning Post, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of the demise of the "City of Darkness" with a detail-loaded infographic, former denizens of the Walled City say it was a "tight-knit community that was poor but generally happy." So what all was packed in? A closer look, below.
My Dog Sighs - A Can is Born
A short film by Paul Gonella of Strong Island and My Dog Sighs documents how one particular Canman is born and subsequently becomes part of the Free Art Friday movement.
For the last ten years, every Friday, My Dog Sighs has created art on found materials and left them on the street for unsuspecting passers by to pick up, take home and love.
The project, called FreeArtFriday, has blossomed into an international movement with thousands of active members leaving a little bit of their heart and soul out on the street for somebody to find.
Each can has its own history, it's own story to tell, feeding families before being recused from the recycle bin and given a new lease of life as one of the growing family of Canman.
You can find out more about My Dog Sighs on his website
Fine Art by Aldous Massie
Some amazing paintings by Aldous Massie, a fine artist from Australia.
