Hong Kong Stories: Master In The House 2
Dim sum is a favourite delicacy of many Hong Kong people. While bamboo steamer is an irreplaceable secret of preserving the original flavour of dim sum, steamer making technique has even been inscribed onto the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong.
Master LUI Ming, now 93, has been working with dedication in the bamboo steamer industry for more than 70 years. He earned his reputation in the market with his skilled craftsmanship and innovative products. Realising that the protruding slip of a traditional steamer was easily damaged when cleaning, Master LUI improved the slip with stainless steel to make the steamer more durable. However, due to the migration of local industrial operations to the Mainland, the handmade bamboo steamer industry in Hong Kong has gradually shrunk, and the craftsmanship has found no inheritors. Fortunately, Master LUI’s craftsmanship is given a new life in another form of art. Young artist Inkgo LAM, who hopes to integrate traditional craftsmanship into contemporary art, met Master LUI in an intangible cultural heritage inheritance programme. They collaborated to create a bamboo steamer in the shape of the Big Buddha. For a bamboo artist, in addition to creation, maintenance of the works is also important. Bamboo, the main material used in the works, is a natural material that is easily worn out. In addition, as the artist has to repair the works in accordance with the damages, more meticulous skills are needed and thus making it more challenging than creating a new art piece.
Inkgo likes to use bamboo in her creations, and hopes to show different features of bamboo in her works. Therefore, she combines bamboo art with contemporary art in her solo exhibition, so that visitors can appreciate various characteristics of bamboo while savouring the artistic enjoyment. She also organises bamboo steamer workshops to let the public better understand this traditional craftsmanship. Bamboo craftsmen from two different generations are as resilient as bamboo, with unswerving determination to pass down the bamboo artistry.
Producer: TSANG Chor-sun
