When Pigs Fly

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For many people, the mere mention of Hong Kong conjures images of harboursides, modern skyscrapers, a smorgasbord of culinary delights and a true retail mecca. But if you look closer, the vintage stores and dated architecture of the city are very much interconnected to this port city’s identity and history. As Hong Kong develops, many of these older stores are disappearing. Fortunately, illustrator Flyingpig is determined to preserve the memories and stories of these disappearing shops.

提到香港，也许多数人的印象是现代化的玻璃大厦，多国美食和购物中心。可是，这座开埠多年的城市，只要细心去发掘，会发现许多老店和旧建筑与这城的关係密不可分，却渐渐在发展中消失。插画师飞天猪，希望用笔触画下香港各式旧区老店，记下充满人情味的故事。

Despite studying animation in college, Flyingpig is an avid illustrator. After graduating, she worked in film post-production before transitioning towards digital illustration. Amongst balancing her work life and illustrating in her spare time, she found herself questioning her current career path. Sundays became the only day when she could unwind and take the time to sketch. As her sketches accumulated and continuously received positive feedback online, Flyingpig began to understand that drawing didn’t mean working alone. “I realized that my work could send a message,” she says. “I never considered that I could make a living off illustrating alone.” She soon quit her job and plunged head first into illustration.

喜欢绘画的飞天猪，大学时修读动画，毕业后从事电影后製，及后任职电脑绘图，工作所学什多，然而每天辛劳过后，她发现一切并非自己所渴望，倒是能够休息的星期天，在城市中写生的时刻，她才感到是属于自己的空间。随着写生数量渐多，放在网上所得的迴响，飞天猪发现写生不再是她一个人的事情「原来我的画作可以传达信息。以往从没想过可以靠画画维生。」于是决定辞去全职工作，专心投入画画的世界，做自己喜欢的事。

On canvas, the colorful portrayals of vintage stores are beautifully and purposefully executed. But, beyond the canvas, Flyingpig finds her interactions with these store owners to be infinitely more meaningful and important. She enjoys learning the history and stories behind these stores, building a connecting between herself and the community. “There was a time when I went to draw the shopfronts in Sheung Wan. As I sat by the roadside, the shopkeeper offered me a leather suitcase to rest my drawing pad on. He began to tell me about the little things that he had around his shop. It made me realise that amongst these spaces, there were so many stories that were just waiting to told.”

画框之内是吸引眼球、色彩斑斓的旧区小店，然而，画框之外与店主的交流，暸解小店背后的故事，接触社区，对飞天猪来说才是最重要，也衍生一份使命感驱使她不断创作「我到上环的朱荣记画画，当时坐在马路边，老板好心给我纸皮箱垫袋子，还分享小店每件货品和子承父业的故事。从那时便意识到每间小店可以有属于自己的绘本，我想为它们记下各自的故事。」

Looking at Flyingpig’s debut illustration book, Lao Dian Feng Qing Hua (which translates into vintage shop illustrations), her love of watercolors is ever present. Not only is this a casual, effortless medium, but she can allow her personality to flow through each brushstroke. These watercolor illustrations carry a laidback and mellow vibe, combined with the warmth of quaint Hong Kong shops. “City folks are always in a rush, people are growing further apart and don’t have a sense of community. Meanwhile, these beautiful details of life remain overlooked and are slowly disappearing. What I hope for when people view my work, is that it’ll make them want to support these small local shops rather franchised retail stores.”

飞天猪出版的首本着作《老店风情画》，从书中画作可见，她爱以水彩绘画，认为其流畅轻快的特点，与自己放胆去画的个性相近。加上水彩看来轻鬆，配合画中的主题，能够传递出小店的温暖。「城市人来去匆匆，不去关注生活的社区，人与人的关係会变得冷漠，逐渐失去生活中可以珍惜的细节。我希望画作令人看后，会想起买一枝樽装水，可以去街角的士多，而非连锁式的超级市场。」

As the city advances and develops, these old shops are silently fading into the background. Despite having a mellow, paced approach to creation since childhood, Flyingpig is now painting with haste and vigor in order to capture these disappearing scenes. Aside from drawing on paper, she has begun to release 360 degree videos. By using AR technology to enhance her drawings, she can immerse viewers into the very thick Hong Kong’s bustling shophouses. Throughout the interview, Flyingpig stressed that “every drawing must have a story” and she remains dedicated to bringing these stories to life through her art.

城市快速的更替，旧区的小店逐渐无声被淘汰。从小喜欢安静在一角画画的飞天猪，却愈画愈起劲，似要追赶发展的步速，在小店消失前继续画下去。她的画作除了以平面展现在画纸上，也推出以360度影片让人观赏。未来她想尝试以AR技术，让人亲自走入社区，在手机上重现她画下，却在现实消失的建筑。无论以何种方式呈现作品，毕竟画面上的温度，都是来自背后承载着的历史和故事，如飞天猪在访谈中多次强调，「故事是每幅画必须的！」