A Different Central

To some, there is nothing more real than the business contracts just concluded, the rise and fall in the price of stocks, stock options, warrants, commodities, the exchange rate, the figures of the amount of cash transferred or to be conditionally transferred from one account into another, from one company, firm or individual to another, the interminable conferences with clients and customers, the incessant negotiation with superiors, competitors and business partners, the endless reports to be read, the numerous decisions to be made, the ceaseless haggling involved in all sorts of bargaining carried out in air conditioned offices, the long hours sitting in front of the computer screen, analyzing news, reports and imagining possible scenarios and how each of tens or even hundreds of happenings around the world or locally may affect the market and how things may likely turn out and when it's time for lunch, to hurry to this or that  posh restaurant with important clients, to dress up in one's most charming "personality" or when if is more humble junior staff to wait  as the number 12 in the long queues in front of noodle shops, fast food restaurants etc, hurriedly finish what one has ordered and then walk briskly back to the office to do more of the same. We may have passed by the familiar corridors, lifts, escalators, lift lobbies, sidewalks, pedestrian walkways and buildings in Central a thousand times and never have time to "look" around and actually "see" what the various buildings look like.

The tallest building in HK, supported on its outside by these huge glass window panes, held in place by powerful magnets on cables: a marvel of modern material science. Through the window pane, I could see some heavy wheel tackle. I don't know what will be built.

Grime already filling out the lower portion of the opening in the "window" on the lift lobby.

Can you figure out what these patches of brown and dark greys are?

Or where these geometric patterns took their original form from?

The windows are full of all kinds of interesting abstract patterns.

Some more easily recognized than others. 

Some reflections through the void of a sculpture.

The world seems discrete: divided into different templates each with its own rules of construction and its own colors.

Some remain truer to their original form. But all are in one way or another distorted.

The only form which looks a bit more solid is this sculpture by Chu Ming. One sees its textures, its color, its shape, standing all alone: massive, simple and real. Yet is it not the product of human imagination? What is "real"? What is "unreal"? Do these question make any sense at  all?

I took a closer look and discovered the "imperfections" upon its surface. Are they all we get in life ?

Whilst ruminating over such questions, my eyes were struck by this new geometric pattern of lines and curves. How regular, how smooth? What would its surface look like if placed under the microscope? Would they be as rough as what I found on the surface of the sculpture I found above? So what is smooth? What is rough? What is perfection? What is imperfection?

I could find no satisfactory answer. So I looked out in the direction of the sea for some comfort. This is all I could find. A tiny corner of the sky, weighed down by some dark clouds.

I continued on my journey, wondering.