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    • Hans Ebert
      • 4 days ago
      • 5 min read

    Wherefore art thou Creativity, Hong Kong?


    The photo above with its come together influenced slogan is, at least on the surface, an ungrammatical confusing piece of communications- or, possibly, against all odds, something deep, meaningful and inspiring. What exactly does “We and Us” REALLY mean? Hmmmmm?

    While letting the wordsmiths and blacksmiths ponder the meaning behind this, speaking with a friend last night about Hong Kong’s purported “influencers”, the question was, what exactly makes someone one of these? More importantly, the chat was about how in Hong Kong, creating something doesn’t really happen organically. There’s first a need to try and second-guess what might be approved. Thinking about this, there’s something fascinating to drift off and daydream that creativity in this city might be being made in some middle kingdom in the Lost And Found, where all kinds of young artists congregate and create without following rules and not regurgitating what’s already come and gone. Unfortunately, creative work in Hong Kong is often not given the wings to fly and, in so doing, create a vibrant independent artists community. There’s always something holding things back. In the Eighties and Nineties, advertising in Hong Kong had its own “Mad Men” with work that could hold its own with anything from anywhere in the world. There was of course talent from Hong Kong and also veteran Directors of Photography from the UK like Ronnie Maarsz, Joe Bruton and others who had worked on classic films like “Lawrence Of Arabia”. For a few years, Hong Kong was home to Bob Freeman, former official photographer for the Beatles who worked on at least three commercials for me. We might not have known it at the time, but just being around them and hearing their stories influenced some of us a helluva lot. Produced for brands like Puma, Solvil et Titus, and especially the documentaries Director Louis Ng and his company Film Factory produced for the Hong Kong Tourism Board, was work that won just about every international advertising award. This was good for the individuals involved and also for the reputation and image of Hong Kong.


    It was a short, powerful burst of creative energy that inspired many. For one reason or another, especially the China market opening up and clients paying big money for commercials that appealed to its consumers, standards dropped and that initial burst of creativity was short lived. Money talks all languages. During these times, and earlier, there was no need for “influencers”. There was no social media, no need for Mr Wikipedia nor Mrs Google. Mobile phones were the size of bowling balls and the only App one knew might have been a kid living down the road. The technology was never the idea. Music, commercials, films, they came from the heart, mind, real life experiences and imagination that never has any boundaries. It’s this gift of imagination that brought Jim Henson’s rainbow connection together. No one questioned things like how a frog and pig could get along, the close relationship between Bert and Ernie and why Big Bird was yellow. It was diversity without it being crammed down one’s throat.

    Whether in advertising or film or music, or whatever that had yet to happen, there was always work and successes by others to inspire and move things forward- and not be bogged down with analytics and algorithms, crypto cryptics, the metaverse and other buzzwords.

    It was the work from artists as diverse as Steven Spielberg, Jim Henson, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan and Miles Davis to Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Fellini, Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese and David Bailey that helped to inspire many and break down walls. Creativity wasn’t “push button simple”. It came outta nowhere and one often knew instinctively when it entered the system. Though in 2009, the Hong Kong government made a song and dance about a “worldwide search” for a creative guru to lead the newly formed CreateHK, this was empty squawk box talk.

    This promise came from the ubiquitous Duncan Pescod, below, the somewhat controversial head of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority who was finally forced to resign in 2020 from this post.

    In 2014, Dunc had been awarded a Gold Bauhinia Star for “contributions in the areas of economy and trade, communications and technology” yada yada yada. Funny how Hong Kong often works. As for CreateHK, someone from another government department- the unknown Jerry Liu- quietly became its leader and kept the title until a couple of years ago when he strapped on his golden parachute and flew off into retirement. His legacy? Possibly this YouTube video.

    This white elephant, meanwhile, is allowed to plod along under a new leader and still funded by taxpayers’ money with few knowing how CreateHK works and bothering to question its relevance to the Hong Kong -and the city’s creative community. There’s a thick veil of bullsh*t around it which surely goes against its name- CreateHK. CreateHK? How? Where? When? Who? Curiouser and curiouser, Alice.

    Could Hong Kong ever be a creative hub and wonderland? In time, perhaps, and by first paying some dues. It’s become way too easy, for instance, to be labelled an “influencer”, and which often means mediocrity being promoted and a lowering of standards.

    There’s also the belief by many that the online world and the real world exist under two different sets of rules and systems. The fact is that everything has to first and foremost have do with real talent that sets it apart as opposed to subscribing to the same school of thought and that herd instinct landing everyone in the same Canto Pop cow patch. If it’s not one thing, it’s an udder...

    For some reason, those on the fringes and with no curriculum vitae seem to think that hashtags and “views”, streams and tapping into online communities for help trumps the creative product. This is all too often when clear headed thinking goes AWOL and MIA. It’s not unlike falling for click bait and answering things like whether hot dogs should be eaten with mayo and mango chutney and bothering to name all the places where one has lived.

    As for “creative content” that’s often mentioned as something to fill a void in any marketing plan though the end result only shows a lack of an idea. It’s a patchwork quilt job. This is probably another reason why standards have been lowered with mediocrity allowed in and everyone pretty much being an expert on everything. In Hong Kong, we have now come down to “We and Us” and a new chapter in its history. This is happening when the Lockdown Years have affected the attention span of many around the world. There’s a drip feed of bibs and bobs, ticks and toks and nothing much of any substance. Hopefully, this has to do with the world needing time to get itself together and become more selective and exclusive instead of inhaling clutter.

    It might not seem like it, but there’s no time like the present for “We and Us” to look at creating work that will help fast track the battered image of Hong Kong as we wait to see what the city comes up with to attract tourism. No one is going to take Hong Kong seriously because of a rather quizzical rah rah slogan- and copycat ideas from other countries. The city needs the right global partners with whom to work and see what each can bring to the table to create The Big Picture. Very little can replace individual strengths and effective teamwork coming together to make this happen. This is the excitement that lies ahead. This is the type of motivation needed to make good things happen.

    #hongkong #creativity #createhk #marketing #originalthinking #teamwork #inspiration #motivation #results #bigpicture

    • Blog
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    • Hans Ebert
      • Jan 28
      • 3 min read

    Creativity can be contagious...in a good way.

    The world is desperately in need of whatever you might want to call it- a reboot, a makeover, a Renaissance period, newness, chutney, a Bento box etc. It’s needed because one day rolls into the next, and it’s one long Groundhog Day with a blanket of boredom, fear, anger and depression covering the world.

    Wherefore art thou, Creativity, in all your many forms? And, to some, it’s not what you might have done and who you met decades ago and still living on the crumbs of fading memories, but what have you done lately?


    Working from home, it appears, has not only dulled social skills, it’s short-circuited what once might have been inquisitive minds looking for answers in everything around us. You know, trying to find solutions to problems along the way and maybe stumbling onto how to bring that crazy little thing called happiness back into lives.


    Almost a year ago, the very small team here in Hong Kong worked on a series of online messages of positivity about how Creativity cannot and should not be locked down.

    Produced was a music track and accompanying music video. There was an original short story written and produced.


    It was designed to be a Wake Up call to arms and how we need to move away from the somnambulism that had taken over lives and slowed everything down to, not just a crawl, but a numbing and soulless thud.


    Thinking back, I guess I was reminding myself not to ever give up. How I had loved everything I was doing, and that even the mean spiritedness of some to trip me up when trying to get somewhere, never dulled my excitement for adventure.


    Of course, the more I travelled, the less I knew and this unholy quest for excitement took a toll on my marriage and hurt the only woman I will ever love.


    As Dylan sang, “I must have been mad, I didn’t know what I had, I threw it all away”.

    Still, they’ve all been lessons learned and, hopefully, helped re-arrange my life by bringing in a new interior designer.


    These life changing lessons have also made me adamant not to repeat them and become a dullard commenting on every one of those click bait Facebook questionnaires and living in the past.


    Memories are great to have. Often, they’re all we have. But living inside these sometimes throws up a false sense of reality.


    Right now, many of us are caught between a rock and a pretty nondescript place, somewhere between Nut Bush City Limits and the soft shoe Lido Shuffle.


    Though one can try and create, this adrenaline rush is thwarted midstream when realising that it’s a locked down upside down fruitcake world where everything is functioning pretty much on the downbeat.


    So what’s the point? Why bother? Maybe to prove the doubters wrong and still trying to make your parents proud. They’re still living with and without you.


    It’s also weaving one’s way through an obstacle course with that green eyed monster known as Jealousy often making its presence felt. But as jealousy must be earned, you must be doing something right.

    Though the ironically labelled “Social media”, with those “Like” buttons and emphasis placed on hashtags and upping numbers for sale don’t help, life goes on and needing new challenges to create new opportunities.


    Sometimes it’s like being Noah and travelling against the tide of some weird new version of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Scrolling and trolling, scrolling and trolling...

    Negativity only shows up character flaws that were perhaps always there- even amongst one-time friends. It was a different and unmasked world back then and perhaps everyone was too busy doing The Macarena and thinking that those good times will last forever.


    Today, any morsel of success is often envied. Maybe individual success is in short supply...


    Trying to break away from the monotony of mediocrity is often discouraged as, well, it’s easier. It might also actually lead to a healthier and happier place.


    We can’t have that, can we? But we can.


    Instead of looking at ways to tear things down, surely, we should make it our job to help things grow by inspiring others, and which, in turn, will make a U-turn and inspire us.


    Selfish thinking never leads anywhere. Instead, and as Otis Redding sang, Try a little tenderness along with honest to goodness kindness.


    It’s all free- and at your fingertips.


    #creativity #lockdownscannotstopcreativity #create #imagination #inspiration #motivation #bobdylan

    • Blog
    22 views0 comments
    • Hans Ebert
      • Dec 13, 2021
      • 4 min read

    And then there’s Zac...

    It’s not writer’s block, but some things, like the Longines Hong Kong International Races yesterday at Shatin, are almost impossible to put into words as it’s kinda like playing mental ping pong with one’s self.

    Everything that has needed to be said about that horrific chain reaction of falls in the fifth race has been said. It involved three jockeys whom I regard as friends.

    One can say how “that’s racing”, but there will always be those who disagree. Yes, it was a horrific fall and one of the worst many of us have seen in horse racing.

    For some of the Hong Kong television stations to keep showing footage of this particular incident is, I guess, news, and like needing to look back at a traffic accident, something that “interests” the human psyche.

    One can try and steer the narrative away to the fantastic and record breaking win of Hong Kong‘s Golden Sixty in the Hong Kong Mile and the team around him. But is this enough to please the non racing fan? Apparently not. Someone asked if Golden Sixty is a charm bracelet and whether I have one for her.

    All through the day and during lunch and tea, the favourite topic of discussion was the fall. Bad news travels fast and furiously. Social media doesn’t help.

    There was the fitting sayonara to horse racing from Japan’s Loves Only You, who was given a brilliant winning ride by Yuga Kawada before she enters the next phase of her career as a broodmare.

    There was the fantastic winning ride of Matthew Chadwick on California Spangle. It’s good to have the old firm of Cruz and Chadwick back doing business.

    There was the raw emotional outpouring to his wife from Joao Moreira after winning the Hong Kong Vase.

    This was after he had thanked the Big Guy above, kissed the sky, thanked the turf, pounded his heart with his fist and sent virtual kisses and warm embraces to something like 17,000 people on course. Hey, he's Brazilian. They get a little excited.

    Away from the on course action, there was every effort made by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to adhere to the government’s rules to keep its “racing bubble” intact so that this highlight of the racing calendar would be allowed to run.

    To those outside of horse racing, however, it keeps coming back to the fall. It’s like listening to one of those racing and sports channels and Baby Shark’s “game plan” on constant Repeat.

    There’s almost something biblical about this subject that often comes across like it has to do with someone having to serve penance and constantly repent.


    While watching the races from Shatin on television and having been at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday for the International Jockeys Competition, which had some of the best and most competitive race riding that I have ever seen, I felt that I needed to write about what a brilliant and world class act Australian Jockey Zac Purton is, and the role Hong Kong has played in his success story.

    I had started writing about this remarkable journey of his on Sunday morning and everything was making perfect sense as the racing at Shatin unfolded. He had ridden the first three winners on the card and was sitting out the fourth race.



    Then came down the spider, and what should have been the most successful International race day in Hong Kong took an abrupt turn.


    What people think and say is beyond my powers of control. I am not Spider Man. My responsibility is only to myself and gawd knows that I have cocked that up a few times. I write because I have always been a writer, and most of the time, I write for myself.


    If some enjoy what I write, fine. If others don’t, that’s fine, too. But, at least for me, writing is cathartic and therapeutic. The words that come out pretty much analyse themselves and often provide answers.


    The piece I started writing about Zac is nothing I am going to get defensive about. Why should I?


    I am not a “racing writer”. No one can tell me what to write. And I have interviewed and written extensively about everyone and everything from Arthur C Clarke and Quincy Jones to social media, creativity, the music industry, Billy Joel, Bowie, Dylan and Martin Scorsese. If anything, I am an observer of people and life.


    The success and talent of Zac Purton goes beyond bubbles and yeah or neighs or press releases.


    It’s a human interest story about an exceptional- and inspirational- athlete who I believe happens to ride race horses better than anyone else in the world. And he happens to live in Hong Kong, a city that’s resilient, yes, but very much bereft of inspiration.


    As for the story I started writing about Zac on Sunday, maybe one day, I’ll finish it- but there’s a long wait before that happens.


    Zac Purton still has much to achieve.


    All photos by Wallace Wan (except Golden Sixty photo by Donald Lee)

     

    We all know about that sickening fall today and thank God and everyone else that the boys are as well as they could be.


    My heart goes out to the trainers, owners, stable staff and the horses. There’s nothing else I can say.


    I SHALL, however, single out the “tipping service” that tagged my company and 3-4 others on Twitter to gloat about them having “tipped” the winner of that race and its “value”.


    These grubs who are only about “the punt” should be loudly drummed out of the game.


    They’re not only bad for racing, they’re just bad people.


    I have blocked them and will definitely find out more about this company and who’s behind it.

     

    #zacpurton #hkir #hkijc #horseracing #inspiration #motivation

    • Blog
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