CEMENT PING PONG TABLE
Perhaps how a
cement ping pong table looked has almost gone from our memory. It was an object
with an unassuming existence: Made of cement, it was rugged, cheap, and would have
weathered a lot of rain and storms. Compared with the ping pong tables in
modern sports centres, it lacked bounce, and was not standard in size.
As the artist remembered,
the cement ping pong table only attracted unskilled, pint-sized players to play
a double game, with an occasional adult to give pointers on the side. Installed
in some covered area in public housing estates, it was the trusted companion in
the childhood memory of many, or even of an Olympic player or two. Now as a
sculpture, it is a tangible form of community participation; as a sports
facility, it has shaped part of the history of Hong Kong sports development.
With each fast-growing community development comes a
stadium with the latest facilities. It’s time for the old-style cement ping
pong table to bow out. But the artist has salvaged one from an old public housing
estate and installed it outside the Tiu Keng Leng Sports Centre. It is not only
for memories’ sake, but also a tribute to the past.
說不定我們早已忘了水泥乒乓球枱的模樣。它平平無奇，就是水泥造的、堅固的、廉價的，受風雨侵蝕。與現代的乒乓球枱相比，它欠缺彈性、也沒有統一尺寸。
在許多人的印象中，水泥乒乓球枱只吸引技術不高的小個子結伴對打，間中或會引來成人從旁指導。它在公共屋邨的簷下，陪伴許多小朋友成長，也曾是奧運選手的搖籃。作為雕塑，它實現了社區參與；作為體育設施，它更建構了部分香港體育的發展史。
社區急速發展，新式體育館相繼落成，水泥球枱已被淘汰。然而，我們從舊式屋邨找來一張被遺忘的水泥乒乓球枱裝置在現代化的調景嶺體育館。這不單是種懷念，更是一種尊重。
註：何文田愛民邨屋邨經歷人口老化，水泥乒乓球枱需拆走並換上長者康身設備
Collection of the Art
Promotion Office, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Artist: Chung Wai-ian, Ng Ka-chun, Cheung King-wai
Photographer: Wong Ka-wing
康樂及文化事務署藝術推廣辦事處藏品
藝術家: 鍾惠恩、吳家俊、張景威
攝影: 黃嘉榮
