The role I play between the living and the dead
Between the world and the underworld
Is probably a bridge
My name is Au Yeung Ping Chi, and I'm 42 years old
I've been making paper effigies for almost two decades
Media call me "designer for the deceased", I'm famous
Paper crafts can be trendy
They are not necessarily scary and gloomy
I made drum machines, telescopes
Nintendo
Mantis
Hill myna, shoes
Soda machines, cash registers
Scooters were in around 1997
And dancing machines, robotic dogs
I assembled them with paper
And hung them out at the front of the shop
They were meant to attract business
But media's attention was drawn
I was interviewed by media from Japan, the Netherlands and other countries
Wong Ka Keung from Beyond once contacted me through a Buddha chapel
He wanted to make a guitar and an amplifier
And incinerate them for his elder brother Wong Ka Kui
But not all of my pieces share the same fate
Some of them are made decorations
Or exhibition items
Usually I whittle a bamboo
Mark down the size
And connect it with paper
Then form a three-dimensional model
And paste papers
Usually I make paper crafts after the real thing
This bowl of rice noodles was ordered by a boy for his deceased girlfriend
He asked specifically for this flavor
So I bought a bowl of rice noodles for reference
Though most of my crafts end up in fire, I don't think it's a pity
Because I believe people are using it in their afterlife
It helps the living to bid a decent farewell
And it realizes the last will of the departed
I try my best
Of course there are difficulties
Everything new is challenging
A girl died very young
Her mother ordered a pair of high heels from a magazine
That's my first time making shoes
I went to shoe shops to do my due research
A client had a mother
Who liked this vacuum cleaner a lot
But he could no longer give it to her
So he asked me to make a paper one
Last year, a mother, her teenage daughter died
She used to sleep with two dolls
The mother was very happy to receive my crafts
"They are exactly the same, I'm so happy", she said
My father is a paper effigy designer
I studied design for one year and a half after high school graduation
Then I learned from my father
I took the business from him only a few years ago
And I was finally a designer
Only I was a designer for the deceased
Someone placed an order
An amusement park with complete set of facilities, that's impossible
(What if they offer an insanely high price?)
Still no can do
Even if you offered me 10 million to do that
But you can always buy them ghost money and jewelries
Let them buy what they need themselves