The graphite drawings on concrete walls of the now demolished Extra City and former grane silo, was inspired by the Kowloon Walled City. It depicts a sprawling, chaotic urban landscape, recalling the dense, labyrinthine architecture of the infamous Walled City.
Walled Cities. Graphite drawing, concrete wall space, text.
The Forgotten City
The drawing captures the essence of a city within a city—a place where concrete towers rose above the law, forming their own shadowy world. Each drawing begin with the mapping from the original Walled City, yet as the drawing progress in an organic manner, different Walled cities appeared on the concrete, hinting at the Walled City’s uniqueness through self regulation. The combination of graphite on concrete made the drawings invisible when viewed at certain angles, often viewers walked passed the empty space, only to realise the drawing after reading the text on the opposite side of the installation. It is then the viewers turned around looking for the drawings, that these become clear as day. Just as the infamous Walled City and it’s inhabitants (outcasts) that often were invisible for the society.
The drawings in the former Cultural centre Extra City, although temporary, serves as a final tribute to places that lived outside the conventional order—a fleeting moment in a dying structure, capturing the spirit of defiance and survival in the face of obliteration. Soon, both the artwork and the building will be gone, erased by progress, but their memory lingers, much like the indelible impression left by the Kowloon Walled City.
Detail Walled Cities
Life Inside the Walled City
Kowloon Walled City was marked by extreme population density, with an estimated 33,000 people crammed into just 6.4 acres (2.6 hectares) at its peak in the 1980s, making it one of the most densely populated places on earth. The living conditions were harsh, with buildings stacked chaotically up to 14 stories high, narrow alleys filled with trash, and a lack of sanitation, light, and ventilation. Despite these challenges, residents formed a close-knit community. The Walled City was notorious for lawlessness, serving as a hub for illegal activities such as gambling, drug production, and unlicensed medical practices, much of it controlled by triad gangs. Police rarely entered the area, making it a haven for criminal enterprises. However, the residents built a self-sufficient economy with thriving businesses, including factories, schools, shops, restaurants, and even unlicensed medical professionals, operating outside formal regulations.
Foto: Kowloon Walled City. Source: https://review.gale.com/2024/07/30/kowloon-walled-city/