Larry Feign, a professional visual artist who made his living as a cartoonist for many years. has written a rather unusual book. The Village at the Centre of the World has no cartoons, but the format is not dissimilar in that the work consists of a set of captioned photos, where the captions are essays of a few hundred words discussing the subject of the image.
The village of the title is Wang Tong, a scattering of about 70 small houses in the exurbs of Hong Kong where Feign has lived for almost 20 years. The photos are his own, giving the whole project the air of a narrated tour of a friend’s family scrapbook. That impression is supported by the quality of some of the photos. Feign is a better cartoonist than photographer.
Nor is there much in the way of a dramatic arc. “Wang Tong is for dreamers.” A main reason why Feign is attached to the village is that nothing ever happens there. Indeed, one chapter is entitled “Nothing Happened”. There is no commerce, no industry and just a minimum of micro-scale agriculture. The village is accessible only on foot or by bicycle, and Feign describes his attempts to keep it that way.
One of the hardest things about living in a beautiful place is the constant need to do battle with the sinister forces of ugliness, exploitation, and concrete addiction.
He makes occasional trips to downtown Hong Kong and always returns longing for tranquility.
The overwhelming majority of the work’s photos are of birds, flowers and other natural scenes. He and his wife are apparently avid gardeners, and some of the fruits of their garden receive photo treatment. The accompanying captions are similarly placid. Along the way we incidentally learn a bit of history, something about a couple of the other villagers and a few hints about Feign himself—vegetarian, studied Buddhism, appreciates jazz.
This description may sound discouraging, but it’s not meant to be. With its vignettes, The Village at the Centre of the World is ideal for situations where your reading might be interrupted, as there is no story line to follow. It may or may not leave you longing to move to a village of 250 souls where not much happens, but it will certainly leave you with a feel for what it would be like. And you will appreciate why Feign finds it appealing.