PANG Lok Yan Olive
St. Mary’s Canossian College

My work is created with watercolours, colour pencils and brush pens. I have used mainly cool tones, such as dark blue and different shades of black, to depict the ‘Hong Kong December dusk’ and the bleak and dreary mood of the poem. Black footprints of different sizes are drawn to illustrate the ‘maze of criss-crossing feet that enmeshes the city’. Although many people walk past the street sleeper, which is shown by the footprints, no one has stopped to offer any help. The street sleeper is ignored and marginalised in the city, which is why he is placed at the bottom right-hand corner of the painting. He has no choice but to squat in the corner under the unpleasant, if not disgusting, flyover, which strengthens the sense of isolation and entrapment. The taxi and the street sleeper are facing different directions to signify the lack of connection among the urban dwellers in the city.

People in Hong Kong may walk past a street sleeper every day without even noticing. The poem is drawing people’s attention to homelessness in the city and the very upsetting mood emphasises its seriousness. I truly believe that our city will become a better place if we show more care and support for the poor and needy.