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Vivian W. T. Pang, Victoria & Albert Museum, United KingdomAbstract
The paper researches the meaning of “Made in Hong Kong” through an examination of Guangcai (Canton enamelled porcelain) industry in Hong Kong in the twenty first century. The research explores its role in Hong Kong nowadays, specifically, how it fulfills a sense of nostalgia and loss associated with Hong Kong. With case studies on porcelain pattern naming across British and Hong Kong factories, examines how nostalgia functions as a marketing tool in porcelain design, and how Hong Kong’s craft industries have been shaped by, and contributed to global cultural flows. The paper would explore that craftsmanship is a tool for people to connect with a place, and nostalgia is a ruler to measure how deep the connection between people and place. In addition, the paper explores nostalgia as a Hong Kong phenomenon, further discussing whether nostalgia and city development are dialectical opposites. The discourse surrounding cultural heritage in Hong Kong often revolves around the ideas of the “dying” and “disappearing.” Guangcai has acted as a Chinese export porcelain, fulfilling Chinoiserie demand in Europe and America, but today, that is not its role, it represents “Made in Hong Kong” product. Yet, there remains a group of collectors interested in acquiring these porcelain pieces, searching for something that embodies Hong Kong. Why does Hong Kong-made porcelain fascinate them? Are they purchasing the same idea of Chinoiserie, or has the essence of this fascination fundamentally changed? A central argument of the dissertation challenges the common perception of nostalgia as backward-looking or regressive. Instead, the paper frames nostalgia as a forward-looking force, one that enables individuals to reconnect with cultural memory, find continuity in times of change, and imagine alternative futures.
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Conference: KAMC2025Stream: Aesthetics and Design
This paper is part of the KAMC2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Pang V. (2026) Nostalgia in Porcelain: The Contemporary Role of Guangcai in Connecting, Craft, Place, and People in Hong Kong ISSN: 2436-0503 – The Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 195-209) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2025.18
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2025.18
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