Incense Burning as Cultural Resonance in Hong Kong

Incense burning is a medium to establish communication between humans and deities, current generations and ancestors. In Hong Kong, traditional festive activities are the most prominent expressions of the context of incense burning. These festivals, as Intangible Cultural Heritage, convey the material and spiritual values, the shared culture between the community and the public, and a continuous process of balancing tradition and transformation. Using incense burning as a conceptual thread, this research explores how artistic practice through sound, video, drawing and installation can cultivate resonance between the audience and cultural activities. It is structured around three interrelated artworks. “Sparks” uses an interactive sound map to investigate how sonic identity arises from the complementary relationship between people and land; “Deities” employs the Five Elements Theory in the visualisation of belief, exploring how deities are constructed from human imagination and worship of natural forces; “Catching Incense” connects the concept of “Cheap Nature” to discuss the waste after ritual practices. This artwork series treats incense burning beyond the repetition of tradition, but as cultural resonance that links humans, land, belief and nature, inviting audiences to reconsider how cultural continuity might be sustained in contemporary Hong Kong. keywords: Intangible Cultural Heritage, Traditional Festival, soundscape, Art Installation, resonance, nature culture