The Beautiful Ones

Experience an audio tour around the historical industrial area of San Po Kong in Hong Kong. Exploring and reimagining the area’s vibrant history, from the golden era of the plastics industry, to the 1967 riots and present day urban renewal. This guide builds on the particular quirks of San Po Kong to examine modern life in a city like Hong Kong, with concerns relating to population, overcrowding, urban planning and social interaction.

The title, 'The Beautiful Ones' refers to one of the experiments by John Calhoun in the 1960s, called the 'mouse utopia.' In this experiment, the mice experienced a behavioural sink due to overcrowding and developed a variety of social pathologies. Some mice stopped interacting at all, only eating, sleeping and grooming themselves. Being well fed, well groomed and free from the scars of conflict in their isolation, Calhoun called these mice ‘The Beautiful Ones.’

Through this audio guide, the worlds of San Po Kong and the mouse utopia will start to overlap...