2025. Anita Chan Lai-ling Gallery, Fringe Club, Hong Kong.
Fishing is one of Hong Kong’s thriving trades, with some traditional festivals rooted in fishing culture. People burn incense to pray for safe voyages, good catches, and peace for lost souls. Nowadays, temples overflow with worshippers during these festivals, and staff must constantly clear incense burners to make room for later arrivals to place their incense. Most incense sticks are extinguished and discarded shortly after being lit.
How should we view this waste? Can we use natural resources more sustainably or maximise each incense stick’s purpose? “Fishing” brings wealth, while “catching incense” seeks a future of mutual benefit between humans and nature. Even if this hope is as flammable and fragile as a cotton thread, “catching,” this action will continue to be repeated.
