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Objects

Building a Street Collection

Cashier staff do not necessarily print out receipts. Waiters ask customers to scan their QR codes for e-menus. Paper carrier bags are provided upon request and are charged due to environmental and sustainability concerns. Nowadays, it seems that there is less ‘physical evidence’ showing that we have spent some amount of time doing mundane, everyday activities in a street. In this activity, try to obtain at least one physical object for each action done or for each interaction made with people in a street. By the end of this activity, it is hoped that you can start building a small collection.

How it works

1
First, select a street in a district or neighbourhood.
2
Spend at least 30 minutes on this task.
3
Try to find the following in a street, if possible.
  1. One small, non-chain, independent or family-run shop or business
  2. One chain store or business
  3. One eatery
  4. One venue for leisure and/or entertainment (it can be fee-paying or non-fee-paying)
  5. People whose work are itinerant in nature (e.g. hawkers, flyer distributors, salespeople, fundraising helpers etc.)
4
Obtain at least one tangible, physical object from the above places, venues, or people.
5
Write a brief introduction to your collection. It can include the following reflections:
  • The criteria that you use for selecting what to include in, or exclude from, your collection
  • The limitations of your collection
  • The condition of the collected objects
  • The history or functions of the objects
  • Their similarities or differences, such as those relate to their nature or uses
Feel free to include any information as you deem fit.

Example

Examples of objects and items that can be gathered:

Objects from Street

Photo by Vanessa Yeung (from top to bottom): A real estate agency's promo, a collection note for a camera repair, a business card from cafe, and a handwritten receipt from a bar.

Building a Bulkeley Street Collection

Things collected through my actions and interactions with people who work, provide services and operate businesses in the street:

  • An auntie handing out an issue of Headline Daily
  • Wonton noodle shop: Business card, receipt, leaflet/take-out menus from a wonton noodle shop
  • Lux Theatre: A paper ticket with a marked seat reservation
  • Korean-family-run restaurant: Business card, receipt, leaflets
  • Siu mei shop: Receipt and unique packaging of the siu mei
  • HBSC ATM: Withdrawal advice
  • Property agent in suit and tie handing out a flyer about available flats for rent in Hung Hom

Some considerations:

I will keep the paper ticket, business cards and receipts from the two neighbourhood restaurants in the Bulkeley Street Collection for sure because they are unique to this street and are popular among kaifongs. Besides, Lux Theatre is probably the last cinema that keeps the practice of manual ticketing. I will eliminate Headline Daily and ATM withdrawal advice, as they are not exclusive to the street and are available everywhere.

I will probably archive the property flyer in my personal collection as it carries some degree of contemporary significance (such as showing the performance of the rental and the sales market) but I will not immediately add it to my Bulkeley Street Collection.