Behind the ‘Neon’ speakeasy bar at Affordable Art Fair 2024 with Jonathan Jay Lee

While visiting Affordable Art Fair 2024, you might have noticed a peculiar sight: a simple, traditional barber shop, tucked into the corner of the exhibition hall. Don’t be fooled by the façade — behind the curtains lies the electrifying Neon speakeasy bar, an homage to Hong Kong and Sham Shui Po, curated by artist Jonathan Jay Lee.

The project has been the talk of the town following the Fair. After all, it’s not every day you see people getting actual haircuts in the middle of an art exhibition. Kelvin Yu and his team at Too Far East Barber & Co. continuously shaved, snipped, and transformed guests with a hair makeover throughout the Fair.

Not to mention the unique drinks crafted by Kiyoshi Hoshimi-Caines behind the Neon speakeasy bar. It’s a simple menu, featuring only three cocktails and a mocktail. You’ll quickly recognise the flavours on the list: chrysanthemum tea, milk tea, and egg tart. Each drink is a homage to the familiar flavours around us and captures the spirit of Neon.

Tying it all together is, of course, the artwork. Each piece presented by Jonathan Jay Lee is a love letter to Hong Kong. The lightbox set-up draws your attention in the dim light of the bar. The drawings proudly display our city’s everyday moments, no matter how humble or unglamorous.

This is the driving force behind the Neon speakeasy bar: a shared love and pride for the city we call home. Everyone in the trio pays respect to Hong Kong culture with their respective crafts. The best part? All three of them were childhood friends. Keep reading to discover the story of how the three friends made this project a reality.

The beginnings of the Neon speakeasy bar and Jonathan Jay Lee

What inspired you to create the speakeasy bar?

Jonathan Jay Lee: It was actually the director of the Art Fair, Regina’s idea. She approached me and said, “How do you feel about doing a speakeasy bar on Sham Shui Po at the Affordable Art Fair?” I was like, those words don’t make any sense, but somehow, we understood each other. 

How did the collaboration with Kiyoshi Hoshimi-Caines and Too Far East Barber & Co. come about? 

JJL: If it’s a speakeasy bar, I needed someone who can create that experience, right? I’m not in F&B. I talk with Yoshi about all my projects, so I asked him about this. We made a list of people I should look at. We were going to do experiments and talk to people. In the end, I just said, “Can you do it? I trust you and you know what we’re going for.” So, we just went from there. And we grew up together. There’s just something about friendship so it was nice to work with him. 

The barber side of things was similar. Regina was like, “How do you feel about a barber shop?” and I was like, “Oh, funny you say that.” Kelvin is another childhood friend we grew up with.

Kiyoshi Hoshimi-Caines: I’ve known John since we were 12 years old, so we go way, way back. Also the barber, Kelvin. We all went to high school together in Hong Kong 26 years ago now. It was kind of serendipitous and kind of perfect that the project was something that we all actually do.

What was it like working on the Neon speakeasy bar? 

JJL: This whole thing doesn’t make any sense if you think about it, but those are the best kind of projects. The ones that excite me the most are the ones that I have no certainty of what it’s going to be. I’m chasing that feeling like it’s my first project. I’ve done this enough that if a project doesn’t interest me, I’d rather say no because I feel like I’ve done it. This is brand new, so I went for it. It’s weird, isn’t it? To chase that feeling of anxiety, excitement, that uncertainty. 

KHC: It‘s amazing. Especially with this project, where the Hong Kong Tourism Board is promoting John’s work because it’s intrinsically Hong Kong. It’s inspired by this place that we all love and we all grew up in and out of.

The story of Sham Shui Po

Why is Sham Shui Po remarkable to you, personally? 

JJL: I like Sham Shui Po because it’s one of the few untouched places. Even Kai Tak, in the last 20 years, has really changed a lot. Now, is that good or bad? I can’t answer that question, but there’s still a part of the culture there. They do small things to try to preserve it, like sculptures and things like that. I think no matter how people try to record history, in whatever form that is, it’s still a record.

Sham Shui Po itself is always going to have a certain kind of heart and vibe. It’s still changing and it’s going to keep changing. If you think about what Ap Liu Street translates to, it literally means duck pee. I laugh about those little things. I don’t know if that’s the truth, but that in itself tells a story, doesn’t it? And what is it like now? It’s completely different. I think there are a lot of amazing neighbourhoods in Hong Kong. Sham Shui Po just means something particular to me for those reasons. 

What would you say is your favourite detail about Sham Shui Po? 

JJL: What’s that saying — the devil’s in the details. For me, it’s everything. It’s the overall vibe. Every little thing you see serves as a part of that picture, of understanding the vibe of the neighbourhood. It’s just one small piece of the puzzle. It’s the working class hustle, which is a reminder that we’re all doing it in Hong Kong. People think I’m humble, but the truth is, this is what we do. 

A friend of mine messaged me the other day for a commission and he saw this project going on. He’s like, “It’s amazing, the friends who grew up with you all made it,” and I’m like, don’t get this wrong. It’s part of the hustle, you know what I mean? We’re still in the process. None of us have “made it,” at least not by our standards.  

You don’t shy away from the honest details of Hong Kong in your art. Is there a particular reason why you do this? 

JJL: I actually gave a TEDx talk about this and I’m proud of it because it explained everything. It was about embracing the imperfections in yourself. I realised that by doing it with Hong Kong, there’s a truth in that. It’s like if you love someone for their imperfections. By realising and seeing it from that perspective, I started appreciating everything about it. That’s all it is. You know the things that annoy you most about your family are actually the reasons you love them most. 

It wasn’t my intention to do this, but I just want to portray it the way I see it. Maybe, in the act of drawing, there’s something in the brush stroke or the arm movement that makes you feel love. Hopefully, the audience can see it. There’s nothing worse than an artist making a work they don’t like. You can tell when someone enjoys something and when they have an intention behind it, whether it’s subconscious or not. It’s strange. There’s something there that I think can’t be explained in words.

What does your process for your urban landscapes usually look like? 

JJL: It depends on the project. It depends on what the client wants and what we’re trying to say. In this case, we have a piece called Golden, which is golden hour on Golden Computer Arcade, the vibe of Sham Shui Po. 

First thing I look at is where we want it in the exhibition and what scale we want it at. That determines the composition and what we want to focus on. I’ll go and collect references on-site. Things like photos, sketches, different angles. Maybe I’ll go and do a little more photo shooting just to capture the overall vibe and take note of things that I didn’t notice in detail that I’m like, “Oh, that’s kind of cool that it exists.” Then I make a list of what made Sham Shui Po unique to me growing up. 

I try to capture all of that in a composition. I go back and put everything together like a puzzle. Every time you shift something, you shift something else. There’s no correct answer. But when it’s finished, that’s the correct answer, and everything is perfectly in its right place. 

I do the colour flats after the inking stage, then the actual colouring stage where you’re pushing and pulling colours. I have certain patterns where I’ll start first just to get the form created. As the form takes shape, you see adjustments to make and therefore lighting. If this needs to be the focus, then how do we bring this out? This needs to glow, so the background has to be darker. This is too cold, so we have to make it warmer. It’s a puzzle.

Going behind the bar

What was the inspiration behind each cocktail? How did you translate it into a cocktail? 

KHC: Two of them are actual drinks. It’s just trying to find a different twist on something that already exists. For the Kok Fa Spritz, Kelvin always used to drink the Vita chrysanthemum tea boxes. Part of the cordial that I make actually has the Vita drink inside. Obviously, we use a little more refined ingredients to balance it out, but it was directly based on that. 

With the Milk Tea Punch as well, it’s about trying to find a creative way to do it. Clarifying milk tea is also a classic cocktail method. It’s just carrying the essence of the original while also giving a new spin on it, which was kind of fun. The Dan Taa Sour was just something fun that I was like, “Well, why don’t I try it?” Shout out to Ezra from Mostly Harmless who helped me with R&D and let me use the lab at her amazing bar.

Which cocktail is your personal favourite from the Neon speakeasy bar? 

JJL: I think the Dan Taa Sour. Only because… Actually, the Milk Tea Punch is quite interesting too because you don’t expect it. The Kok Fa Spritz is refreshing… This is a hard question. (pause) Maybe Dan Taa Sour, because it was the first one I tried and I also didn’t expect it. It’s a beautiful presentation. When we have all four drinks side-by-side, it’s a beautiful image. You just want to drink them all. 

KHC: They’re all pretty unique. I think what I would drink the most of would probably be the Kok Fa Spritz. It has Fernet Hunter and Saicho which are two brands made by two of my friends. They’re also in and out of Hong Kong. Fernet Hunter is by someone that I’ve worked with for years, Rafael Holtzer. It’s a beautiful, aromatic bitter. This one is Saicho, which is a beautiful tea made by my friend Phil and his sister. So, my favourite one would probably be the one that’s made by my friends and family, which is what this project is all about.

Hero and featured images courtesy of Affordable Art Fair 2024.