“The Urban Beautician: Mail Polish” by Elke Reinhuber
Photo from eer.de
Title:
- The Urban Beautician: Mail Polish
Artist(s) and People Involved:
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Artist Statement:
The Urban Beautician tries to improve neglected details in our urban environment with interventions in public space and performances to camera. Since more then a decade she takes care of things no one else does. In Hong Kong, her attempt differs slightly as she looks after a recently much discussed issue: the royal insignia on the islands’ letter boxes.
To disremember their colonial past, these red remainders of Hong Kong’s days as crown colony were rigorously covered with the complementary colour. Now, it is even in discussion to conceal the royal cyphers with a plaque. Before this should happen, the Urban Beautician will give new life to selected letterboxes during her intervention. She polishes and emphasises a selection of the different royal insignia from 59 old post boxes (see http://hksearch.weebly.com) which remain in use or were turned into a decorative piece in Hong Kong; comprised of the following: GRV for King George V, GRVI for King George VI, a Crown of Scotland and EIIR for Queen Elizabeth II, the favourite of the Urban Beautician, bearing similar initials as her creator, EER (Elke E. Reinhuber). Two boxes from the era of Queen Victoria found their place in the Hong Kong History Museum and will be acknowledged and henceforth included. [source: eer.de/art/art/ub.html]
At The Corner Of Saigon/Shanghai Street, Hong Kong
