Arts and Literature

Thankfully, though they might look as if they’d crawl up your leg, they’re all actually fakes, lovingly handcrafted out of double-sided sticky tape by artist Luke Ching Chin-Wai, to investigate the island’s fear of invasion and attack through a new folk art.

"Fortunately, we haven't had terrorist attacks in Hong Kong so far," he explained.

Luke Ching Chin-Wai's cockroaches

"In the past ten years, however, ‘safety and security’ was the top concern of the government. ‘Smooth transaction’ and ‘stability and prosperity’ became the most frequently used slogans, and there has been a drastic increase in the numbers of security guards and CCTV in every corner of the city shows our fear of uncertainty.

"The appearance of cockroaches signals loopholes of the security system in modern urban life. I intend to use the folk art approach to create a small turmoil or challenge to question the urban security system."

Luke isn’t just keeping the creation of critters to himself though. He’s inviting anyone who fancies it to come down to the Arts Centre and fashion one for themselves, something he hopes will take off when he returns to Hong Kong.

"Every place has its own folk art - for example, paper cutting in china. It is always related to the history of the place, but Hong Kong has no long and rich history.

"I would like to create a folk art for the Hong Kong people. The cockroach is a familiar insect to everyone, so if I give simple lessons to teach people how to make it, after they learn it, they can teach someone else. Very soon, Hong Kong will have its own unique folk art."

If you want to create a cockroach, the cockroach making workshop is on Saturday 30 June from 2pm to 4pm. Entry is free but ring to reserve a place on 0161 832 7271.

The Pivotal Decade: Hong Kong Art 1997-2007 runs at the Chinese Arts Centre until Sunday 23 September.