Today, a home isn’t just a place to live; it has become a space to express oneself. For our 35th anniversary exhibition, At Home in Hong Kong, we enlisted creative personalities from Canto-pop singer Hins Cheung to Arnault Castel, founder of Kapok, to offer a peek into their homes. In this exclusive web series, we delve deeper into the minds of these local leaders.
The five words that you would love people to associate with you: Ideally, I would say friendly, creative, kind, driven… and a negative one would be clumsy. I break things and I’m not very careful – sometimes I cross the road without looking. The positive side of this trait is that I am quite carefree and I dream all the time.
What is your favourite part of your home? I spend a lot of time lounging and working in my living room. Although I have a study, I rarely work there. And though there is a dining table as well, my partner Joe Tang and I usually eat in the living room because it’s more casual. The shape of the room is quite enclosed so it’s also very nice and cosy.
What is the most underrated virtue? Kindness. Work is all about being efficient and fast. If you are kind or give people a second chance, people will think you are weak. But being kind doesn’t mean you are stupid. Of course, if you notice that people are taking advantage of you, you should stop. But I prefer to be kind because it sets a better atmosphere.
Hong Kong is…? A place where you feel you shouldn’t be lazy. The second you leave the house, it’s full on and you feed off of that energy. There is no other city as active, and that can be a good thing. However, I always find that Hong Kong is so noisy and frantic that I can’t even open my windows.
If you could be talented in another field, what would it be? So many things! I love music and played the organ, piano and guitar when I was younger. But I was never any good at it and would love to be able to sing like my sister, who does it very well. I also love tennis and play two to three times a week. It’s very calming. I’d really like to be much better, but I suppose it was not meant to be.
The pet peeve that you have tried to tolerate but cannot: [Laughs] This one is easy! I really like tidy things. In the office, I work with people who are great and creative, but sometimes it gets messy with boxes everywhere. Sometimes if I am the last one in the office, I will literally clean people’s desks. My staff probably think I’m a little crazy. I feel guilty, but I just cannot handle it.
What is the most overrated quality in modern society? I really don’t like aggressive and assertive behaviour. Some people say that that is good leadership, but to me it is very obnoxious. I don’t like to be told what to do, which is a very French part of me.
The definition of good taste is… Good taste is about restraint, and being calm and quiet. Good taste is also something that needs to be integrated into daily living. In Scandinavia or Japan, you feel that aesthetics are part of everyday life. Unfortunately, you don’t see this enough in Hong Kong, which is messier and more chaotic.
The one thing you would never change about yourself: I don’t want to change many things, actually. I think that’s the good part about growing older. You try to change your appearance, which creates a lot of anxiety. At some point you realise that this is it, and though what you have is not perfect, it’s not so bad as well.
Take a look into Arnault’s home at our At Home in Hong Kong pop-up exhibition, running from October 23 to 24.
Read the rest of the web series here: JJ. Acuna, Michelle Lai , Vicky Lau
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