Abstract of the Final Year Capstone Project(CP)
意象中的空間重構：香港集體回憶——荔園
Spatial Reconstruction via Imagery: Hong Kong Collective Memories ——Lai Yuen
無形文化遺産常以教育或參與實踐的形式再現傳承。然而，對於已清拆的無形地方或建築，目前缺乏針對空間性集體記憶喚起和傳承方法的研究。本總整專案是一項「意象空間重構」的藝術計畫，以見證半世紀香港歷史的本地樂園——「荔園」作為個案分析。並根據心理學中雙重編碼理論（1971）、情境恢復效應（1983）和心像概念，發展透過繪畫方法重構無形意象空間的概念，以藝術品重現昔日有形的地方建築。成果為一系列共三件的藝術品，以鳥瞰圖形式分別整合三個時代的荔園空間。旨在喚起和承傳觀賞者對荔園的集體回憶。藝術品附有尋憶單，列出三代荔園的特色。觀賞者可透過與作品的互動，以視覺遊歷荔園的場景，尋找荔園的歷史價值和回憶片段。
心理學家莫里斯．哈布瓦赫（1925）提出集體回憶不只是對過去事件的客觀回顧與描述，更是人群對事件的共同主觀經驗，是一種社會性的建構。因此藝術品內容以客觀資料為本，並於其上疊加社會共同主觀片段，重現集體回憶。客觀資料收集方法包括：閱讀大量舊報紙、照片、地圖、紀錄片、廣告和宣傳產品，以整合推理成繪畫荔園具體和客觀的地理空間。同時，社交媒體專頁和社群發放關於荔園的貼文和留言，以及相關文學作品則作為主觀資料，描繪成角色動作細節，以呈現集體回憶。另外，研究也透過網上問卷收集了三十位去過荔園的人分享的回憶片段，並抽取部分作為畫作彩蛋，增添趣味性。
藝術品的呈現設置網站和實體展覽兩種方法供觀賞者瀏覽。觀賞作品後，七十位觀賞者利用電子問卷提供回饋。該問卷用於評估畫作在意象空間的還原度，以及觀賞者在欣賞作品前後對該地認知程度的變化。最終論證畫作「意象空間重構」的手法，在「喚起」和「承傳」荔園集體回憶的成效。
總括而言，研究結果論證如何以視覺藝術重構意象空間，喚起和承傳已清拆的地方的集體回憶。此外，研究還望豐富對於視覺藝術、集體記憶和社會文化連結之間關聯的理解，並為無形且曾具空間性的文化遺產保護和承傳方面做出貢獻。
Intangible cultural heritage is often reproduced and passed on in the form of education or participatory practice. However, there is currently a lack of research on methods to evoke and pass on spatial collective memories for vanished intangible places or buildings. This capstone project aims to reconstruct the intangible imagery of a demolished local amusement park, “Lai Yuen”, which witnessed half a century of Hong Kong's history. Based on the Dual Coding Theory (1971), the Context Reinstatement Effect (1983), and the concept of Mental Imagery in psychology, the project develops a concept of reconstructing intangible imaginary spaces through visual artworks. The ouput is a series of three artworks that integrate the three eras of Lai Yuen space in a bird's-eye view. The objective is to evoke and transmit the collective memories of Lai Yuen to the viewers. The artwork is accompanied by a memory list, listing the characteristics of the three generations of it. Through the searching interaction, viewers can visually tour the scenes of Lai Yuen and find the historical value and memory fragments of the place.
Halbwachs, M. (1925) proposed that collective memory is not only an objective review and description of past events, but also the collective subjective experience of the event by the group, and is a social construction. Therefore, the content of artworks is based on objective data and overlaid with socially shared subjective fragments to recreate collective memories. The collection of objective data include reading a large number of old newspapers, photos, maps, documentaries, advertisements and promotional products to integrate the specific and objective geographical space of the Lai Yuen for the artwork. At the same time, social media pages and community platforms disseminate posts and comments about Lai Yuen, and relevant literary works are used as subjective data to depict detailed character actions, presenting collective memories. The research also collected fragments of memories shared by 30 people who have been to Lai Yuen through an online questionnaire, and selected some of them as “Easter eggs”to add interest in the artworks.
The presentation of the artworks is available through both a website and a physical exhibition for viewers to browse. After appreciating the artwork, 70 viewers provide feedback through an online questionnaire. The questionnaire is used to evaluate the specificity and authenticity of the artwork in restoring the space of Lai Yuen, as well as the changes in viewers' perception of the place before and after appreciating the artwork. Ultimately, the effectiveness of "spatial reconstruction via imagery" in evoking and transmitting collective memories of Lai Yuen is demonstrated.
In conclusion, the research results demonstrated how visual art can reconstruct imaginary spaces in memories, to evoke and transmit collective memories of demolished places. Additionally, the study aims to enrich the understanding of the relationship between visual art, collective memory, and social-cultural connections, and contribute to preserving and transmitting intangible cultural heritage that once had spatial significance.
