This year marks the 20th anniversary of Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing’s passing. Starting from March 29, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department presents the Miss You Much Leslie exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum to look back on his achievements. The exhibition, like the Bruce Lee: Kung Fu · Art · Life exhibition at the Heritage Museum in Shatin, is too small in scale.
M+ established itself as a one-of-a-kind museum of Hong Kong visual culture at the outset. However, it has turned into a museum dominated by Western arts and cultures. From the curatorial team to the entire curatorial model, the execution of M+ follows the European and American way of doing things. How could this happen? This concerns cultural security and soft power.
It bears little to no relation to local visual culture and is now run like a replica of the Tate Modern art gallery in London. Currently on display at M+ is the exhibition Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now. It’s rather curious for visitors to look back on the creative journey of Yayoi Kusama. What does “the princess of polka dots” have to do with Hong Kong culture? Why would M+ opt for Kusama instead of an influential figure like “Goh Goh”? Why should the chronicle of Leslie’s life be exhibited in an undermaintained museum?
After the release of his English-language album DayDreamin’ in 1978, Leslie had a career in arts for 25 years. During that time, he witnessed Hong Kong’s successes in film and visual culture. From the late 1970s, dramas produced by Television Broadcasts Ltd (TVB) were exported to neighboring regions, reaching Southeast Asia. The theme songs of these dramas brought Hong Kong singers to fame in other Chinese-speaking regions in Asia. Cheung’s influence thus expanded to the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, etc. The time that Goh Goh made his debut and fame coincided with Hong Kong’s golden era. In the 1980s, as Hong Kong developed from an entrepot to an international financial center, the spawning of wealth had resulted in a surge of creative energy in industries. There were also influential singers like Alan Tam Wing-lun, Anita Mui Yim-fong, and Danny Chan Pak-keung. As the themes of movies diversified, the number of productions went to over 300 per year. The city then earned the title of “Hollywood of the East”. Unfortunately, later on because of piracy and the economic downturn, funding for films and records dropped. Goh Goh as well witnessed the decline of Hong Kong’s cultural strength.
A museum should help maintain cultural identity and establish the city’s cultural autonomy instead of selling merchandise. Leslie became a role model, for he strove for perfection and always found ways to showcase his talent. There was a time when this same spirit of the masses enabled Hong Kong to come to prominence in Asia
His works of art spanning film, television and pop music fully reflect the city’s soft power then. He was fit for characters from the ancient to modern times and acted in a whole gamut of genres, including romance, comedies, wuxia and thrillers. Some of the renowned directors he worked with include John Woo Yu-sen, Derek Yee Tung-sing, Tsui Hark, Peter Chan Ho-sun, Gordon Chan Ka-seung and Patrick Tam Kar-ming. Some of the roles he played include Ning Caichen in Ching Siu-tung's A Chinese Ghost Story (1987); Chan Chen-Pang in Stanley Kwan’s Rouge (1987); Sung Tse Kit in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow (1986); Seung So in Clifton Ko’s All's Well, Ends Well (1992), etc. Leslie’s unique aura has made these roles classic of the classics.
To commemorate Leslie Cheung, a large-scale retrospective should be held at M+. As one of the most important icons in local popular and visual cultures, he collaborated with world-class masters of aesthetics such as William Chang Suk-ping — an award-winning art director/costume designer — and the photographer Wing Shya. Goh Goh’s achievements truly grew across fields. Therefore, we do not merely revere him as an icon, but also through him we see the Hong Kong style of beauty and aesthetics of the era.
When one speaks of 1980s Cantopop, Leslie is an absolute legend. He sang many classic hits, from his adaptation of Yamaguchi Momoe’s Japanese song in 1983, Monica in 1984, to his other songs. Many of his fans, local and international alike, grew up with his music. If M+ organized a Leslie Cheung retrospective, it would allow locals to understand their own past and set a benchmark to further develop Hong Kong’s soft power.
A museum should help maintain cultural identity and establish the city’s cultural autonomy instead of selling merchandise. Leslie became a role model, for he strove for perfection and always found ways to showcase his talent. There was a time when this same spirit of the masses enabled Hong Kong to come to prominence in Asia.
In 1993, the collaboration between China’s Chen Kaige and Leslie Cheung culminated in an award-winning film — Farewell My Concubine — which won the Palme d’Or at the 46th Cannes Film Festival. Adapted from Lilian Lee’s novel, directed by Chen and produced by Taiwan’s Hsu Feng, it is one of the finest artistic works in Chinese cinema. It can also be seen as an exemplar of cross-Strait cultural collaboration.
Apart from Chen, Wong Kar-wai had also worked closely with Leslie. Goh Goh breathes new life into Wong’s films. For instance, Huang Yaoshi in Ashes of Time (1994) and Ho Po-wing in Happy Together (1997) both glow with Leslie’s aura. Those works would be essential to an exhibition on Leslie Cheung. Winning multiple awards at the 10th Hong Kong Awards ceremony and the 28th Golden Horse Film Festival, Days of Being Wild (1990) brought Wong Kar-wai to the international film scene and was another milestone in Hong Kong cinema history.
Notwithstanding the phrase “Hong Kong Visual Culture”, M+ has become a contemporary art museum focused on Western cultures. It has been 20 years since Leslie’s passing, and M+ is only promoting art events supported by European luxury brands instead of paying homage to Goh Goh. Is that right? Frankly speaking, cultural policy marginalizes Hong Kong and reflects the government’s negligence of local talents and culture. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu proposed to build a Hong Kong pop culture museum. Hopefully, it will grow beyond the scale of the Hong Kong Film Archive in Sai Wan Ho. With the constant glorification of Anglo-American cultures, local culture is ebbing away. Instead of promoting foreign cultures unilaterally, Hong Kong should thrust visual culture into the limelight.
What is the function of a museum if its curation is not rooted in the local culture? The National Gallery in London would not have become an international art museum if it did not care to appreciate their home culture and artists. Without Leslie Cheung and works of art in Hong Kong films, could M+ be called world-class?
The author is a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and artistic director of Zuni Icosahedron.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.