Neon Nostalgia 

Neon lights, long the glowing symbol of Hong Kong’s creativity, resilience, and defiance, are fading away. Declared a threat to public safety, these vibrant signs are being systematically removed, deemed incompatible with the clean, glass-and-steel vision of a "new" Hong Kong. Neon lights refuse to conform, flickering defiantly against the tide of uniformity and control.

In their place, energy-efficient, obedient LED lights—produced in China—are taking over. They never malfunction, never complain. They follow orders. They fit seamlessly into the narrative of Hong Kong's "advancement" from stability to prosperity, though at the cost of its individuality.

But what happens when the lights that once told Hong Kong’s story are silenced? Without them, some say, the city becomes a ghost town, stripped of its soul. And yet, perhaps our mourning is tinted with neon nostalgia—a longing for a Hong Kong that can no longer exist, for a city that resists even as it transforms.

Like the neon signs, Hong Kongers too are leaving, replaced by those who better align with the imposed vision of order and stability. The lights, and the people they represent, share the same fate: pushed to the margins, their flickering brilliance remembered only in whispers. Neon Nostalgia is both a lament and a mirror, reflecting the delicate tension between identity and erasure, defiance and acquiescence, in a city caught between light and shadow.

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2016 - 2025