2nd floor café, household cuisine, love hotel and upstairs bookshop – a unique character of Hong Kong culture
One cannot simply equate Hong Kong culture with either Confucian ideology or the British democratic principles. Hong Kong culture lies between the fulcrum of Chinese morality and the Western sense of freedom and independence. The city is the Asian window that opens to the world; it has a world-class financial system, with flexible mindset in responding to the fast-growing economic development of mainland. In regards to the limitation of space and high rent rate, it gives birth to the so-called ‘upstairs business culture’. Hence, you can find 2nd floor café, household cuisine, upstairs bookshop and pet shop; all these features become part of the unique characters of Hong Kong business culture.

Spaces and Culture | Public and Private
The unique business culture of Hong Kong encourages vertical expansion for business spaces. Public space is intruding into private residential spaces, and the boundary is disappearing.
Manipulation of the function of the space affects the right of use for personal reason or for business. These changes make difficulties in our legal system and become the argument of humanity. The rational use of space under the unique business culture in Hong Kong made us become concerned about notions of privacy and humanity. However, considering the reality and practicality, vertical expansion of business spaces brings us a shed of light under the competitive business environment.

Retrospection on international art and local art in Hong Kong
It was the very first time that Hong Kong took part in the Venice Biennale under the flag of China in 2001. However, Hong Kong showed an obscure attitude in making the decision in positioning oneself as either Hong Kong-China or simply Hong Kong. This question of cultural identity is also an important issue for many Hong Kong artists to resolve. Is Hong Kong an autonomous city? Or just a regional representative of China? In the notions of ‘Country and Region’, ‘Individual and Society’, and Public and Private, how Hong Kong artists would response to those questions of identity,’space’ and ‘art’?

Along with the curator, artists are invited to explore the Hong Kong local culture in relation to that particular social phenomenon.
Through their personal experiences and investigation ‘upstairs and downstairs’, artists would show us to the most truthful facets of lives that may long unnoticed in our daily life.

二樓cafe，私房菜、時鐘酒店、樓上書店一香港文化無所不在
討論「香港文化」，它既不全屬於中國的儒家思想，亦不完全是英國的議會法治制度；它既不是北京胡同情調，也不完全是紐約摩天樓都會景觀。它或許可以在西方與東方的交界間取得平衡，有傳統的中國人情倫理，亦有西方的獨立精神；有中國隨處可維生的蟑螂木色，亦有西方大托辣斯的企業精神。它位於亞洲面對世界的窗口，有完善一流的國際金融機體，也有迎合內地經濟發展的配套。絕處逢生的樓上商業文化：
二樓Cafe，私房茶、時鐘酒店、樓上書店⋯使香港空間、無所不在、無孔不入。這種真實且凌亂的發展景況，成爲亞洲獨一無二的民間經濟型態，也築構出「香港文化」濃厚的人間氣息。

曖味的空閒文化 一失去的公共與私密界線
香港的空間高密集使用向上發展，除了商業機體逐漸的往上延伸，鋪蓋了原屬於住宅範圍的私密處所，私隱因這無所不在的侵入，頓時消失了公共與私密的界線；個人與商業的使用權限，因空間使用質量的轉化，模糊了法律機制與人性的訴求。在私密與人性被商業無良的理性逐漸侵触，卻也同時因爲空間無限運用的絕處逢生，帶給人們生存的一線生機。

妾侍身分一香港本士與國際藝術的省思
2001年香港第一次以「中國」的身分參與威尼斯雙年展的國際盛會，對於「中國身份」或是「香港身分」的選擇，持以一種模糊迷離，卻不抗拒認同的態度。
「香港」到底是一個自主的城市？或是一個中國地區的代表？無法言說的角色曖味，香港藝術家在面對「國」、「個人與社會」、「公共與私密」議題上，對於「身份」、「空間」與「藝術」的問題，又是如何地自我看待呢？

此展覽將邀請四個藝術團體及個人，就「樓上 • 樓下文化」的主題，探討香港內在且眞實的本土文化，它是隱晦的、異色的，卻眞眞實實存在我們周圍社會的現象，藉著藝術家深入各種實地的演繹，以自身身份與每日相處、知道卻不接近的人與及事物對話，揭開大多數香港人的生存面貌。

Exhibition
Date: 4 February – 7 March 2005
Venue: Broadway Cinematheque/ kubrick