Lost The huge curved roof presses more against him as he walks down the Pathway, and he clutches his hand tighter around the object he has brought to pawn. Pawning was not a big deal to the peasants in the old days, most of the people treated the pawnshop like a seasonal storage, pawning quilts in summer and claiming them back in winter. However, there were also many who visited the pawnshop because they were left with no choice. Some pawned for a friend in need; some for a shot in career; some for a gambler-lover in debt; some for a mom in the verge of death. In anyways, he pawns because he wants to retain the chance of claiming it back, as a promise to himself that he has to make through the hardship. But at the same time, pawning also means risking the losing of objects if he failed to reclaim. It is a moment when the tie between the him and the thing is put in a game of fate. In the space of Last Thought, his heart sinks a bit as he steps down to the elevator. He is determined, so he decides to go up. The pawnbroker’s face is nowhere to be seen, because the counter is even higher than normal2. With his eyes fixed on his wedding ring, a motor lifts it to the Pawnbroker for examination. At this point, the wall furthest to him lights up. A screen displays close-up images of the examination in real time. It is the first time he sees the hands of a total stranger stroking his very ring, weighing it, feeling it. This is a virtual experience of the his own object. In this pawnshop, the sense of possession between the owner and his object is the most amplified, while the Keeper(here, the Pawnbroker) keeps distance. The deal’s been made, but the object is handed back to him3, which he has to let go of it by himself in the room of Release. The two steps that rise to the release platform are tall, since this decision may be heavy and difficult.
2 In usual pawnshop practice in Hong Kong, the pawnbroker’s counter is raised 2m above the customer, for security reason and also for creating a sense of authority for better bargain. 3 In usual pawnshop practice in Hong Kong, the object is directly raised to the pawnbroker and transfered to the backhouse for packing.
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