An installation made by objects/ props related to three traditional Cantonese operas or dramas, ink calligraphy on rice paper and single-channel video
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Deeply rooted in the artist’s hometown of Kam Tin, the piece draws inspiration from the Da Jiu (酬恩建醮) festival — a grand village ritual held only once every ten years. Tang reflects on childhood memories of these rare communal events: the towering bamboo opera stage, the thick herbal incense smoke, paper effigies of gods, fireworks, and the mesmerizing performances of scholars and warriors with elaborately painted faces. He connects these experiences to his grandfather, who would wear a ceremonial deep blue garment every decade to honor the gods.
In the work, Tang dons his grandfather’s preserved garment and sings Perish in the Name of Love (帝女花), transforming personal inheritance into a performative act of remembrance. The installation transforms everyday and theatrical objects into sculptural elements that capture gestures, expressions, and postures from classic operas — distilling a “minute on stage” that represents “a decade of practice.”
Ten Years a Play meditates on the cyclical nature of time, the rituals that bind generations, and how performance — whether on stage, in festivals, or in daily life — preserves collective memory and emotional truths. It explores themes of reunion and separation, life and death, and the enduring power of Cantonese opera as both personal solace and Hong Kong’s shared cultural heritage. Through this work, Tang Kwok-hin continues his sensitive exploration of how objects, rituals, and memory intertwine to form identity in a rapidly changing society.
穿起爺爺遺留在大鐵皮箱內的深藍色衣裝，短窄的剪裁緊束上半身，就似一個擁抱。這是十年一度錦田鄉酬恩建醮中爺爺會穿的戰衣。只是爺爺整裝後酬神誦經，我則追溯經年的戲曲回憶唱一遍帝女花。
大戲於我是很親近的經典。
錦田鄉酬恩建醮逢十年舉辦。頭一遍參與還是父親喜愛時常把我抱入懷中，約略兩歲的幼年。
戲棚由交錯有序的竹枝架起，線香將壇木味釋出，隨煙流竄又凝聚在綿密間隔，置身一團團染上藥材味的雲。雲霧飄散籠罩四處如山虛影，是神鬼莊嚴地佇立，其紙扎形態於此盛事可特別威風。從清晨種種酬神儀式至夜晚，大伙男兒不閒著，煙火起灰飛滅，像活火山口忽爾送遞高溫。太陽逐漸隱退，高吭聲緊接宣告出演連場好戲，雅士武者交替上場，面容均精雕細琢，喜怒於色顯著不過。
此情此景，每回想時總聯繫到異界與靈魂，有關生離死別的一場夢幻。
打醮外，日常香火從不間斷，每天奉神明祖宗；春秋二祭等聚餐，阿叔阿姨哼唱熟悉的粵曲歌韻；偶然凌晨無眠，觀看電視裡頭黑白灰，抑或襯有極其絢亮色的粵語殘片，曲風自是濃濃郁郁廣東意。
生活習慣，就似鋪陳蘊釀十載光景，讓感受不容易被忘記。
演藝是目眩的，舞台上鏡頭前鎂燈下演釋某種真實。多少台詞故事飛掠？經年過後猶存總成佳話，築構香港集體回憶。
我給經典造像，衣襟珠片表情步履體態歸結為一剎，卻又體現於各種託付了集體意識的日常物。舞台的一刻鐘與十年功，演員和觀眾可同樣等待歷史洪流內諸般的好久不見。
