Aquarium City

During Spring Break, I went on a trip to Hong Kong. I hadn’t been there in a while and the culture there shocked me, it’s very different from Vancouver. It’s a cosmopolitan coastal city which centuries of deep-rooted traditions. Aside from British colonization, Hong Kong is a mostly untouched city which allowed for their traditions to flourish. Even when the youth of the 21st century are adapting to the previous generations and the passing down language, fashion, food recipes, and among others. I decided to illustrate this homogeneity, yet also differences between every person through a simple fishbowl. This aquarium houses goldfish, with the silhouette of Hong Kong in the shadows. The isolated nature of the bowl mimics the Hong Kong cityscape with the outsiders looking in. Despite being constrained, the movement in the background alludes to the fact that Hong Kong also plays a major part in the world around them. They are a leader in Asian markets despite their very small size. Through the muted colour palette and weaving motion of the brush, I attempted to create a feeling of an interwoven world. Aquarium City is the study of the cultural flow of Hong Kong.