Authors:

 Leggett, Mike; Pau, Ellen.

Title:

 Playing the Parts

Keywords:

 post-colonial; neo-colonial; media artists; Hong Kong; Australia

Abstract:

 This paper will be presented as a series of dialogues between two
presenters, each 'playing the parts' of the protagonists in a complex
situation. Using pre-prepared videotape, a multimedia computer, sound and slides to convey a series of narrative descriptions, the presenters will
articulate the issues that media artists confront in the post-colonial
context of regional administration and global corporate government as it is experienced in Hong Kong and Australia.

In Hong Kong in June 1997 the British Colonial Authority "handed over" the administration of the region to the People's Republic of China. A highly promoted and publicised international event, one of the world's biggest commercial centres, home to eight million people, changed owners.

Many Hong Kong artists, not only those working in the media arts field,
speak about the issue of identity, now that Hong Kong no longer 'belongs' to Britain and before the 50 years transitional period ends and full rule returns to Beijing and the Mandarin language and cultural tradition.
According to Tung Kin Wah, (the CEO of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong), "Hong Kong would be more stable if there are fewer dissenting voices..." indicating that there is concern about accentuating difference between Hong Kong and China.

Dissent and difference characterise much of what is described as
contemporary art in Australia. Though independence from Britain was
achieved in 1901, the Queen of England remains the symbolic head of state - a referendum to change Australia's constitution to that of a republic, will be held during 1999. Few artists or scientists comment on changes of symbolic authority. A significant number however, are actively engaged in opposing racist tendencies within an official multi-cultural society, and campaigning with the indigenous people for land rights and access to services, the articulation and realisation of this being significantly enabled using hypermedia and connectivity.

This joint paper will examine the consequences to communities of artists in Hong Kong and Australia of working within the post-colonial context and identify ways in which some of that work is actively engaged in resisting neo-colonial challenges to regional identity and autonomy.
Leggett, Mike. legart@ozemail.com.au m.leggett@unsw.edu.au++ Independant.Mike Leggett has been working across the institutions of art, education, cinema and television with media since the early-70s. He has film and video work in archives and collections in Europe, Australia, North and South America and has practised professionally as an artist, curator, writer, director, producer, editor, photographer, teacher, manager, administrator and computer consultant. Most recently he has curated exhibitions of interactive multimedia for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney (Burning the Interface

Pau, Ellen. Independant. Ellen Pau is the director of Videotage, formed in 1985 as a video artists collective to organise screenings of work in Hong Kong and overseas. By 1996 it had established non-linear post-production facilities, and gained the resources to maintain an office, library and archive, and administer events including the annual international Microwave Festival of media art. Her work with video is included in several international collections and has been shown world-wide. Recently she completed a tour of England including a period as artist-in-residence at Spacex Gallery, Exeter, UK.