Media

The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), The University of Hong Kong (HKU) will feature a video titled Man with Red Plastic Bag in Hong Kong from December 5, 2024 to January 12, 2025. This film project by the artist Prof. David Clarke is composed of a series of clips shot in 2014 that feature a red plastic bag at various locations in Hong Kong. Most of the clips present the bag in its natural habitat—the Hong Kong streetscape—highlighting the city’s diversity along the way, and suggesting that the Hong Kong streets might be the video’s real subject.

As described by Clarke, “for some reason, red plastic bags have long been a common feature of the Hong Kong streetscape—an ubiquitous part of market stalls and smaller, non-brand-name stores frequented by everyday people. You might even describe them as being an underappreciated cultural icon.”

The documentary style is undermined by the inclusion of several staged clips, blurring the boundary between fact and fiction and influencing how viewers perceive the overall video. Not long after this piece was made, a 2015 extension of the plastic bag levy introduced a charging structure that greatly affected stores that had previously given away the bags for free. As a result, it is now much less common to see red plastic bags around Hong Kong.

For images and exhibit caption, please click here.

Details of the Film Project
Period: December 5, 2024 (Thursday) to January 12, 2025 (Sunday)
Opening Hours: 9:30 am–6 pm (Tuesday to Saturday), 1 pm–6 pm (Sunday)
Closed on Mondays, Public and University Holidays
Venue: Study Gallery, G/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Tel/Email: (852) 2241 5500 (General Enquiry) / museum@hku.hk
Admission: Free admission; In light of the HKU Tourist Flow Management Scheme, please enter via the ground floor of the Fung Ping Shan Building
Website: https://umag.hku.hk/exhibition/david-clarke-man-with-red-plastic-bag-in-hong-kong/

Connect with UMAG on Social Media:
Facebook: http://bit.ly/umag_facebook
Instagram: @umag_hku, #UMAG, #DavidClarke, #ManWithRedPlasticBag
YouTube: http://bit.ly/umag_youtube
LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/umag_linkedin
Weibo: @香港大學美術博物館UMAG

About UMAG
UMAG was founded in 1953 as the Fung Ping Shan Museum. It was originally established as the Fung Ping Shan Library in 1932 in honour of its benefactor. For more information on UMAG, please click here.

Media Enquiries
Tel: (852) 2241 5506, Email: musnews@hku.hk

When using any of the copyrighted images, please cite acknowledgement as ‘Image Courtesy of the University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU’.