Ghosts of Hong Kong

Hand tinted lithograph on 300gsm fabriano Unica

55.9 x 76.2 cm

Edition of 30

Stories of Hong Kong’s most haunted sites are told across the terrain of the islands as well as across the centuries In this novel cartographic work of art.

Created in part to celebrate August, the month of the traditional Chinese ‘Hungry Ghost’ festival or ‘Zhongyuan’ the artist Adam Dant has collaborated with colleagues in Hong Kong to conjure up a broad range of Hong Kong’s most haunted places, telling stories of unfortunate brides, abandoned pirate villages, derelict hospitals, tragic love affairs and the occasional grisly news report.

To protect us against malevolent spirits, not just by showing us spooky places to avoid, the map is dotted with images of talismans which can traditionally deter hauntings such as paper charms, dog’s blood and peach wood. The former military Barracks at Stanley has twice been visited by 70 monks employed to perform exorcisms by chanting and burning incense.

The image also embodies the visual charm of traditional Chinese scroll painting in it’s inked execution, use of pattern in the landscape and specific colouring taken from historical examples of Chinese map making.