非常道 巷裡巷外 (限量紀念版)

大城小巷 都是浮世繪Everyday Monuments – Marc Feustel

大觀園Prologue

非常道 巷裡巷外Hong Kong’s Back Alleys: The Ugly, the Bad and the Good

Lynne D. DiStefano and Lee Ho Yin

尋寶圖Encyclopedia

星羅棋佈 Assemblages

浮生半日 Black Alley Breaks

尋常陌巷 Back Alley Overviews

巷巷便利 Back Alley Shops

織織復織 Back of Carts

整裝待發 Carts

時刻記掛 Clocks

內裡乾坤 Covered Objects

點點滴滴 Drips

路路亨通 Exhausts

天涯芳草 Flora

洗手不幹 Gloves

記記掛掛 Hangers

心無罣礙 Hanging Bags

席席無名 Informal Seating

巷陌羅綺 Laundry

得失等閒 Lost Laundry

一拖再拖 Mops

百川匯流 Pipes

萬綠叢中 Storage

編出彩虹 Strings

有備無患Umbrellas

序（英語原文Marc Feustel）

 

大城小巷 都市浮世繪 

黎志邦、李浩然 

 

　　香港是世界上人口最稠密的都市，市內某些地區的居住密度高達每平方公里四萬人以上，生活在超高密度的居住環境，城市很自然地傾向往高空發展，衍生了一叢叢繁密得像螞蟻窩般的高樓大廈，令人眼花繚亂，要好好的舉頭仰望天空也有點困難，所以生活在香港，私人空間往往被壓縮至極限，而僅餘的公共空間也變成了不可多得的奢侈品。 

 

　　當提到城市公共空間時，人們會即時想起一些如城市廣場、海濱長廊、公園草地等等應有的特徵。在香港這個人煙稠密的都市，這些佔地廣闊的空間實在寥寥可數。反而，一種不顯眼的公共空間卻默默地存在市區的每一個角落，這些空間並不是一片片的土地，而是一條條的窄巷，有如蜘蛛網般縱橫交錯卻又秩序井然地夾雜在城區的高樓大廈之間，雖然要說這些狹窄的小巷是「公共空間」是有點兒那個，不過麻雀雖小，這些龐大數量的巷陌，的確又能夠給居住在這個擠迫城市的市民提供多一點點的生活空間。這些小巷大多數是不多於數來呎寬，原本僅供途人經過和穿越週遭繁忙的鬧市中心而已，但它們同時也為附近的居民，造就和提供了一些條件和環境,好讓他們能夠挪借一些空間作為私人的日常生活用途。 

 

　　吳爾夫(Michael Wolf)自從一九九五年來到香港以後，便已經愛上把香港作為他的攝影題材，過去二十年來，他喜歡拍攝本地的城市景觀，Architecture of Density系列便是他的代表作，他拍攝出香港多層住宅大廈的立面寫真，此外他也愛描繪城市的內涵特色，隨著時間的過去，他也轉往攝獵城市的後巷特別景貌，一般市内的橫街窄巷，猶如城市舞台的死角，很難才沾得到水銀燈的光芒，不過，看在具特別觀察力的有心人眼裡，他也可以巨細無遺地告訴你這個小城的故事。 雖然像普通傳統的街景攝影師一樣，他日復一日的手拿著攝影機，徘徊穿插於橫街小巷之間，但他拍攝下來的照片之中，以巷中人物為题材的為數不多，而他要描繪的主題反而是巷陌中的主人翁所遺留下來的點點滴滴痕跡，這些生活足印很自然地披露了居民靈巧的生活智慧、適應能力和克苦耐勞的精神. 

 

　　香港市民有他們自己的一套方法去利用這些後巷空間，那些甚少人經過的地方相比起外面車水馬龍的繁華大道，總算能給人享有一點點寧靜和私隱，這些小巷實在是一個個遠離煩囂的小綠洲，一些小店員可以忙裡偷閒，手拈著香煙在巷口講移動電話，一些居民就嫌家居太狹窄，自我創造出各式各樣的生活小發明和小空間一有晾曬衣物的設備、有利用簡單破爛的塑料椅凳改造而成的露天閒座。窄巷中的擠迫狀況正好反映了香港地寸金尺土，每一分每一寸都不容錯過，不會放棄，全都要利用作為鬧市中珍貴的貯物點，以及一點點的休憩空間和象徵式的綠化地方。

 

　　吳爾夫就是被這群草根市民的創造力吸引著，讚歎他們能把一些看似被廢置不理的陋巷變成潛藏著生氣的綠洲。 人們用盡各種心思創意，使這些空間的功能發揮得淋漓盡致，一些破舊廢物，在其他城市早就已經被人棄掉了，但在這裡，許多廢物也能修好或改造，重新赋予新的生命，使它們可以重用或者發揮新的用途，無論是空間或是物料，都幾乎是絲毫不浪費。在過去的廿年，吳爾夫搜集了大量各式各樣的後巷民情和生活寫照，他曾經出版過一系列的小冊，不過今回所出版的單行本攝影集卻是首次--它可以視為一本视像百科全書，他以生動的描繪和深入的探討，廣泛地包羅了這個不斷進化中的城市生態寫照。 照片包括了曬晾著的工作手套和地拖把、臨時露天坐椅、晾衣架、塑料袋和被風吹丟失了的衣物等等，本攝影集介紹給讀者林林總總令人驚喜、充滿智慧而又可以簡單操作的「非一般」方法，以創造出幾乎不可能的活動空間，去適應和配合香港這個人口密集的都市生活。

 

　　作者除了展示上述一些平時不顯眼的生活智慧之外，他也提示了一些事物的象徵意義，就如雨傘便是一例，雨傘是後巷之中常常見到的實用物件之一，但是，自從二零一四年秋天香港的「佔領中環」民主運動之後，它已經演變成為爭取民主的標誌。事實上，同一道理，巷陌裡的人家也會有相若的意識，一方面他們被迫要適應現實的擠迫，另一方面他們卻又不由自主地產生對抗的心理，想從壓迫環境裡奪回多點個人生活空間。 

 

　　吳爾夫透過攝影手法，可以把一些平平無奇的實用物件，演繹成為鬧市中的民俗藝術品。他攝獵了大量香港市內後巷的光影，給讀者展示出香港後巷傳統常見的景緻，用以刻劃巷陌人家和每天途經過客的生活寫照。

 

　　城市後巷除了放置著各式各樣的雜物外，也好像開闢了各式各樣的新天地，大大小小的通風喉管彷彿拚命地在非常局限的空間裡求存，小植物也在水泥牆的夾縫中掙扎，拚著要露出頭來；一排排的水管有序的蜿蜒地攀附在大廈的牆上，有如老樹盤根，在看似沒有空間的大廈夾縫之中冒出生機。吳爾夫的攝影就一頁一頁的揭露了這些源源不絕的生命力，正默默地在這城市裡蠢動著，漫衍著。 

 

　　為了要改善和美化這個都市的面貌，近來香港的後巷正要面臨重大的改觀，有人認為現時巷陌的尋常面貌，並不符合現代都市的形象和高效管理，城市設計者想盡方法去活化後巷的空間，以舒緩街道的擁擠。於是當局要把後巷翻新，清除巷內雜物，再聘請藝術家去裝飾美化一翻，務求後巷煥然一新，以吸引更多途人走過。這種干預手段好容易使人聯想起九龍寨城，當年寨城裡三萬五千人擠在三百幢的多層大廈內，堪稱世界上人口最稠密的地方，所有的構築物都絕對是非法僭建的，沒有一間房子是經過規劃師或建築師的手。 然而，寨城內衍生的自由生態於一九九四年被政府清拆改建成為公園，因而毀於一旦，這剛好和今天後巷的現象同出一轍。無可置疑，香港居民的靈巧生活智慧、適應能力和刻苦耐勞的精神在這個城市中隨處可見，生生不息。 但今天當局為求美化城市的表面觀感而要整頓和翻新後巷，不過也就同時清洗 去掉這些小城民間生活智慧，破壞了城中重要的結締組織。 

 

　　一個城市的特式並不是由城市設計者刻意塑造出來的。許多時，市民會因應需求，自己去發現、創造和利用他們的城市空間，因而逐漸形成這個城市的特徵。 看看美國底特律這個工業城市，在工業衰退之後，不少空置了的工業大廈陸續被改為城中農場；又見巴西的青少年，自發地利用商場作為他們的新時代聚會交誼(rolezinho)的場地。這類自發性的和約定俗成的城市現象，正正是 一個城市所能散發出的最美光輝，香港的尋常巷陌便是屬於這一個類別，在此衷心希望吳爾夫這本攝影集，能夠為香港巷陌赢取更多永恆的讚譽。

 

　　Hong Kong is one of the densest urban areas on the planet:  in some of its most populated neighbourhoods, over 40,000 inhabitants share a single square kilometre.  This hyper-density translates naturally into verticality: its iconic skyline bristles with skyscrapers while residential tower blocks stack its inhabitants into dizzying urban anthills.  Just as Hong Kong’s private spaces are squeezed to a bare minimum, public space has become a uniquely rarefied and valuable commodity.

 

　　When we think of public space in an urban context we tend to think of its grander manifestations-a city square, an esplanade, a park.  However, for a city as dense as Hong Kong, these openings are few and far between. Instead, one of the main forms of public space is made up of a series of interstices rather than a single block of land.  Hong Kong’s tower blocks have vastly expanded the network of narrow back alleys running between the city’s buildings. Although it may seem counter-intuitive to use the word “space” in relation to these cramped alleyways, despite their size they have played a vital role for the citizens of Hong Kong. Often no more than a few feet wide, they act both as channels of circulation-short-cuts through the congested urban fabric-while also offering locals the opportunity to claim a few extra square metres as their own.

 

　　Since his arrival in 1995, Hong Kong has become Michael Wolf’s preferred photographic subject.  The images he has made here over the course of two decades focus both on the surface of the city-as with his celebrated series Architecture of Density, a study of the facades of Hong Kong’s residential tower blocks-and on its inner workings beneath that surface.  Over time, the city’s back alleys have become Wolf’s most regular hunting ground. Like the wings to the main urban stage, these alleyways are beyond the reach of the spotlight, but to the discerning eye they can recount just as much, if not more of the city’s story. While Wolf approaches the much like a traditional street photographer, pounding the pavement day in, day out, camera in hand, unlike most photographs of this genre, there are remarkably few people present in his images of these spaces.  Instead, he focuses on the traces left behind by those that use then, steadily documenting the myriad vernacular characteristics of Hong Kong’s back alleys in a way that speaks to the resilience and ingenuity of its residents. 

 

　　Hong Kong’s locals have developed a series of tactics for utilizing the city’s network of back alleys in a variety of different ways.  By offering quiet or even seclusion, these spaces create pockets of calm in which to take refuge from the relentless rhythm of the surrounding city.  Workers glued to their cell phones use the alleys to snatch a cigarette break between shifts while residents create outdoor extensions to their cramped homes, drying laundry or fabricating a makeshift patio with nothing more than a broken-down plastic stool.  The cramped conditions of these narrow passages mean that every inch must be exploited to fulfil some function, whether that be storage, seating, green space, or a place to rest.

 

　　Wolf is fascinated by the locals’ ability to generate utility and function in these spaces where there appears to be none.  Not an ounce of functionality is wasted and these alleys have been full of repurposed, repaired objects that would have been discarded long before in most other cities. Over the past two decades, Wolf has assembled a huge body of work on the many manifestations of life in these back alleys.  From drying gloves and mops to “informally seating arrangements”, from lost items of laundry to coat hangers or plastic bags, he has documented the full range of informal solutions residents have developed to cope with the density of Hong Kong life. Wolf’s images of these many different aspects of back alley life have been published in a series of small books, but here they are complied in a single volume for the first time-a visual encyclopaedia of this extraordinarily rich, diverse and ever-changing urban ecosystem.

 

　　In Wolf’s photographs, these anonymous, functions objects also seem to be invested with a symbolic significance.  The umbrella, a major character in his photographs of the city’s back alleys, became the symbol for the pro-democracy protests that gripped the city in autumn of 2014.  For a city obsessed with the functional it seems perfect-the most common of objects but one which is also emblematic of the notion of passive resistance. In fact, that same spirit runs throughout the vernacular structures that populate these back alleys:  they are driven by functionality but also by the individual’s need to resist and to reclaim space from the ever-densifying urban fabric. 

 

　　Most often, the objects that become the subject of Wolf’s photographs are part of complex structures that seem to transcend their utilitarian function into a form of vernacular sculpture.  Combing a vast number of different items, from coat hangers to mops and soiled workers gloves to clothes pegs, these urban assemblages have become regular features of the Hong Kong back alley, everyday monuments to the activities of those that inhabit and traverse these spaces.

 

　　In addition to the many objects placed there by its residents, the city seems to be reclaiming these back alleys as its own.  Ventilation systems appear to be finding ways to adapt to the most confined spaces while plants fight their way out from amidst the concrete and pipes snake up the buildings’ walls in patterns that resemble the roots of an ancient tree.  Although there is virtually no space for organic life in these hyper-urban environments, these photographs reveal the relentless energy that courses through this city.

 

　　Today, Hong Kong’s back alleys are in danger of being wiped out in a push to clean up the city, as they do not reconcile with the image of modern and well-managed urban development.  Urban planners are seeking to “energize” these spaces to alleviate the suffocating congestion gripping the city streets by renovating them stripping them of this overflow of objects, and commissioning artists to intervene in them in order to make them more inviting to passers-by.  This initiative recalls the decision made to tear down the Kowloon Walled City in 1987 (which finally took effect in 1994). The Walled City was surely the epitome of this spirit embodied in these back alleys. Once thought to be the most densely populated place on earth, it housed 35,000 people in a series of three hundred interconnected high-rise buildings, all constructed perfectly illegally and without the input of a single urban planner or architect.  The resilience and ingenuity of the urban dwellers of Hong Kong will undoubtedly flourish elsewhere, but in renovating these back alleys, officials run the risk of destroying an important party of the city’s connective tissue. Whereas city authorities are determined to maintain the polished sheen of the new on the surface of the city these assemblages reveal the back alleys are one of the places where the city is still able to age.

 

　　Despite the best efforts of urban planners, a city is rarely defined by its landmark projects, but rather by the way its inhabitants repurpose and appropriate urban space according to their needs.  From the urban farms that have sprung up in the abandoned buildings of post-industrial Detroit to the rolezinho occupations of malls by youth in Brazil, these unplanned urban phenomena are the moments when a city’s true character shines brightest.  Hong Kong’s back alley life belongs to this grand tradition. We can only hope that Michael Wolf’s photographs of the ingenuity and artistry that is evident in these spaces remain a celebration rather than a memorial.

 

Marc Feustel